No fatalities

20 Apr 2013: CESSNA 175A — Albuquerque, NM

Albuquerque, NM, United States

On 20 Apr 2013, a CESSNA 175A was involved in an aviation accident near Albuquerque, NM. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot’s inability to maintain airplane control during taxi due to an inadvertent encounter with a dust devil. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot reported that a dust devil suddenly engulfed his airplane during taxi, lifting it about 3 feet before it struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing.

Incident Overview

A pilot reported that while taxiing slowly on a taxiway after landing, a dust devil suddenly materialized about 300 feet to his left front. The pilot had slowed to a stop by the time the dust devil engulfed the airplane, completely lifting it about 3 feet off the taxiway surface. The airplane then impacted terrain on the right wingtip and propeller, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing.

Pilot's Account

The pilot stated that during his arrival to land, he was aware of dust devils in the vicinity that were diminishing or moving away and were no factor. After landing and beginning to taxi, another dust devil appeared unexpectedly. There were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures, according to the pilot.

Damage

The right wing sustained substantial damage. No other damage was reported.

Investigation

The accident investigation is based solely on the pilot's report. No other sources of information are available.

Contributing factors

Attain/maintain not possibleContributed to outcome