A GND HOLDING PA28 IS BLOWN UP ON ITS L WHEEL AND NOSEWHEEL BY A JETBLAST ENCOUNTER FROM A B757 PARKING AT THE GATE TO THEIR R. ATC HAD NOT ADVISED EITHER ACFT OF EACH OTHER'S PRESENCE.
Synopsis
A GND HOLDING PA28 IS BLOWN UP ON ITS L WHEEL AND NOSEWHEEL BY A JETBLAST ENCOUNTER FROM A B757 PARKING AT THE GATE TO THEIR R. ATC HAD NOT ADVISED EITHER ACFT OF EACH OTHER'S PRESENCE.
Narrative
ON OCT/XA/98 I WAS IN ACFT WITH MY INST STUDENT AT SNA. STUDENT WAS IN THE L SEAT AND I WAS IN THE R SEAT; AND WE HAD OBTAINED AN INST CLRNC TO LGB. AFTER OUR RUNUP; GND CTL CLRED US TO TAXI VIA TXWY C; AND HOLD SHORT OF TXWY K ON TXWY C. APPROX 2-3 MINS AFTER WE HAD STOPPED SHORT OF TXWY K; OUR AIRPLANE WAS SUDDENLY ROCKED TO THE L BY A SEVERE WIND; AND LIFTED UP OFF ITS R WHEEL; LEAVING IT BALANCED ON ITS L AND FRONT WHEELS. FEARING THIS WAS DUE TO AN UNKNOWN WIND; OR JETBLAST; BOTH STUDENT AND I ATTEMPTED TO COUNTER THE BLAST BY TURNING OUR AILERONS INTO THE WIND (AILERON UP ON THE SIDE OF THE BLAST). WHEN OUR AIRPLANE DROPPED SUDDENLY BACK DOWN ON ITS R TIRE; I OBSERVED A B757'S TAIL ON THE R SIDE OF OUR AIRPLANE. SNA TWR ASKED IF WE WERE ALRIGHT; AND AFTER I STATED YES; I ASKED HIM FOR FLT NUMBER. THE CTLR INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS FLT XXX. I THEN ASKED TWR FOR PERMISSION TO TAXI BACK TO PARKING TO CHK FOR DAMAGE TO OUR ACFT. I WAS THEN SWITCHED TO GND CTL WHO GAVE US PERMISSION TO TAXI TO PARKING TO CHK FOR DAMAGE ON THE ACFT DUE TO THE JETBLAST FROM B757. THE PLT THEN CAME ON THE AIR AND ASKED WHAT HAD HAPPENED BACK THERE; AND IF EVERYTHING WAS OK. GND CTL INFORMED THE PLT THAT WHEN HE HAD COME UP ON PWR TO PULL INTO GATE HIS JETBLAST HAD BLOWN OUR ACFT UP ON ONE SIDE. THE PLT WAS EXTREMELY APOLOGETIC; AS WAS SNA TWR AND GND CTL. AFTER TAXIING VIA TXWY A TO MAINT; STUDENT AND I CHKED FOR DAMAGE TO THE ACFT. BENEATH THE L WING I NOTICED YELLOW PAINT XFERS AND ALSO WHAT APPEARED TO BE A FRESH CRACK ON THE WINGTIP. THERE ALSO APPEARED TO BE A NEW DENT IN THE LEADING EDGE OF THE WING. IN ADDITION TO THIS DAMAGE; THERE WAS ALSO FRESH DAMAGE TO THE PROP DUE TO IT STRIKING THE TXWY WHEN OUR ACFT WAS BLOWN UP ON ITS L SIDE. SEVERAL RPTS WERE TAKEN IN REGARD TO THE INCIDENT. THE FIRST PERSON I SPOKE WITH WAS SNA TWR SUPVR WHO TOOK DOWN THE INFO OF WHO WAS IN THE AIRPLANE AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. HE ADVISED ME THAT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT WAS NOTED AS BEING XA51. NEXT I SPOKE WITH ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY WHO TOOK A RPT IN WHICH WERE INCLUDED MY STATEMENTS. AT XC00 FAA INVESTIGATORS ARRIVED AT THE FLT CTR WHERE I WORK. THEY ASKED ME FOR MY STATEMENT AND ALSO CHKED THE LOGBOOKS FOR THE ACFT I WAS IN (PIPER WARRIOR). IN ADDITION; THEY LOOKED OVER THE AIRPLANE FOR DAMAGE; AND DETERMINED THAT WITH NO INJURIES TO STUDENT AND ME; AND THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE TO THE AIRPLANE THAT THIS WOULD BE TAKEN AS AN 'INCIDENT' RPT; AS OPPOSED TO AN 'ACCIDENT' RPT. ACCORDING TO ALL PARTIES INVOLVED; IT APPEARS THAT SNA TWR CTL FAILED TO NOTIFY US OF ACR AND CLRED B757 TO TAXI STRAIGHT TO GATE WITHOUT ADVISING THEM OF OUR LOCATION ON THE ADJACENT TXWY C. IT IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME WHETHER THE B757 PLT KNEW OF THE CLOSENESS OF OUR ACFT TO HIS; OR NOT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.