Cessna 172M N955PT accident near Miami, Florida

Probable cause

The business jet flight crew’s failure to appropriately position their airplane to mitigate the impact of their extended duration, high-power engine run, and their failure to adequately communicate these factors to air traffic control, which resulted in the accident airplane encountering their jet blast while taxiing.

NTSB analysis

The flight crew of a business jet airplane had taxied to a runup area on the airport after their airplane had been over-fueled, as they needed to burn off the excess fuel before they could depart. The crew did not otherwise specifically advise air traffic control that they would be performing a high-power engine run for an extended duration. The exhaust of the business jet’s engines was directed toward a taxiway that passed behind the runup area. The flight instructor and student pilot onboard the accident airplane reported that, as they taxied toward the runup area and behind the business jet, their airplane was blown across the taxiway by the jet blast from the business jet, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane’s left wing when it contacted the ground.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA24LA062 for the full record.