Probable cause
The first officer's failure to maintain a safe distance from a large turbine-powered airplane while escorting passengers, resulting in a passenger encounter with jet blast.
NTSB analysis
The first officer of a Learjet was escorting passengers to the airplane, which was parked about 70 ft behind a Bombardier jet. A passenger was knocked over by the jet blast from the engines of the Bombardier as it began taxiing, resulting in serious injuries. Had the first officer waited to escort his passengers after the Bombardier had departed or maintained a safer distance from the Bombardier, it’s likely the passenger would not have been injured.
The pilots of the Bombardier had shut down the left engine to deplane their passenger, restarted the engine, and were taxing back to the runway for takeoff when the accident occurred. They stated the rotating beacon was on and the right engine was running the entire time.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA20LA016 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Oct 16, 2019
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Augusta, Georgia
- Nearest airport
- Augusta Rgnl At Bush Field (AGS)
- Highest injury
- Serious
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Bombardier BD 700 1A10
- N-number
- N307KP
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2002
- Operating rule
- Part 135 (charter and commuter)
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.