Incident Summary
A Grumman aircraft experienced an uncontrolled swerve resulting in a sheared left axle after encountering jet blast from a Bombardier BD-700 Global Express. The incident occurred during taxi after the Grumman had landed uneventfully.
Sequence of Events
The pilot of the Grumman completed an uneventful landing and taxied off the runway. After establishing communications with ground control, the controller cleared the pilot to taxi to the requested destination. Approximately 30 seconds later, the Bombardier Global Express, which was parked on a fixed-base operator (FBO) ramp with its tail oriented toward the taxiway, contacted ground control to indicate readiness to taxi. The ground controller cleared the Global Express to taxi behind the Grumman to the active runway.
As the Grumman taxied past the Global Express's parking spot, the jet's engines began to spool up. The resulting jet blast was directed toward the right side of the Grumman, causing the aircraft to swerve uncontrollably. The left axle of the Grumman sheared off during the incident.
Contributing Factors
The ground controller did not advise the Grumman pilot of the potential jet blast hazard that could be encountered while taxiing behind the Global Express. The Global Express was parked approximately 100 yards to the east of the air traffic control tower, with nothing impeding the line of sight between the tower and the parked aircraft.