Cessna 175A N6955E accident near Albuquerque, New Mexico

Probable cause

The pilot’s inability to maintain airplane control during taxi due to an inadvertent encounter with a dust devil.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that upon arrival at his destination, he realized there were dust devils in the vicinity that were diminishing or moving away; he decided they would not be a factor. He landed the airplane and was taxiing slowly on a taxiway when he saw a dust devil about 300 feet to his left front. He said that he had slowed to a stop by the time the dust devil engulfed the airplane, but the airplane was lifted about 3 feet off the taxiway surface. The airplane then impacted the ground on the right wingtip and propeller, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN13CA234 for the full record.