Textron 172S N49RH

Summary

On 23 May 2023 at about 18:45 local time, a Textron 172S registered N49RH, operated by Wichita State University Campus of Applied Science, was involved in an accident near Wichita, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 May 2023 at 18:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Wichita, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Col. James Jabara (KAAO)

Coordinates

37.7560, -97.2214

Aircraft

Textron 172S

Registration

N49RH

Category

Airplane

Year built

2023

Engines

1

Operator

Wichita State University Campus of Applied Science

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wichita → Nevada

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA198

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain a safe taxi distance from a turbine-powered airplane, resulting in an encounter of the turbine-powered airplane’s jet blast while taxiing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that, during taxi on taxiway A1 in a Cessna 172, a nearby turbine-powered Embraer Phenom airplane parked in the run-up area for taxiway blocked his path to the runway. After completing his pre-takeoff checklist, the student pilot radioed the Phenom crew and asked “if [he] could proceed and sneak behind them to the runway”. The Phenom crew replied, “that should be fine” and the pilot then proceeded to taxi behind the Phenom. As the Cessna taxied behind the Phenom, the jet blast lifted the airplane onto its propeller and left wing which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. The Phenom maintenance crew reported they were conducting a high-power engine run and did not know that an airplane was trying to taxi behind them on taxiway A1. During the student pilot’s initial radio call, a turbine powered Beechjet airplane was taxiing the opposite direction on the taxiway and because the student pilot of the accident airplane did not identify himself with the airplane’s callsign, the maintenance crew assumed the radio call came from the Beechjet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.