The pilot of the Cessna 175 reported that upon arrival at his destination in Albuquerque, N.M., he realized there were dust devils in the vicinity, but didn’t think they would be a factor during the approach and landing.
He made the landing and was taxiing slowly on a taxiway when he saw a dust devil about 300 feet ahead and to the left of the airplane.
He brought the airplane to a full stop but the dust devil lifted the Cessna 3 feet into the air, then dropped it. The airplane hit right wing first, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot was not injured.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the pilot’s inability to maintain control during taxi due to an inadvertent encounter with a dust devil.
NTSB Identification: CEN13CA234
This April 2013 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
The NTSB doesn’t recognize an “Act of God” as a reason for an accident so what is left, but to blame the pilot.
The NTSB Probable Cause reads: “The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: The pilot’s inability to maintain airplane control during taxi due to an inadvertent encounter with a dust devil.”
According to the Merriam dictionary, the word “inadvertent” means ‘inattentive’ or ‘not deliberate’. That seems to fit in this case. FWIW, the NTSB data base returns 148 accidents with the keywords “dust devil”. It looks like several accidents occur every year because pilots encounter these pesky whirlwinds. One has already occurred this year, four happened in 2014, three in 2013, etc. Maybe “inattentive” is accurate, since the pilot didn’t HAVE to land where there were active dust devils on the field.
Why blame this case on the pilot?
Will NTSB , ever cease blaming on the pilot.
I like the pilot being blamed. Anything else would require corrective actions resulting in more regulations, aircraft modifications, safety inspections, record keeping, expenses, etc.