Cessna 172 N22905

Summary

On 15 December 2019 at about 15:55 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N22905, operated by Yokota Aero Club, was involved in an accident near Tokyo, Japan. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 December 2019 at 15:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Tokyo, Japan

Nearest airport

Yokota Air Base (RJTY)

Coordinates

35.7411, 139.3467

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N22905

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Yokota Aero Club

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC20CA014

Nobody was injured.

The airplane’s encounter with prop wash while taxiing behind a larger airplane that was conducting a high-power engine run on the same taxiway. Contributing to the accident was the air traffic controller’s failure to inform the smaller airplane’s pilot about the larger airplane pilot’s intentions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The operator's operations chief reported that an air traffic controller instructed the flight instructor and pilot to taxi to a taxiway and that, subsequently, the airplane encountered prop wash from a larger airplane on the same taxiway, which flipped the airplane onto its right side and resulted in substantial damage to the forward wing spar. The larger airplane's pilot reported that he was conducting a high-power engine run on the same taxiway. The air traffic controller did not tell the pilots in the smaller airplane at any time while they were taxiing about the larger airplane's intentions. The pilot of the larger airplane reported that all requests for engine start, taxi, and high-power engine runs were coordinated with air traffic control (ATC). He added that they had to reposition due to a tailwind and that he had made a radio call to ATC and acknowledged that they had repositioned on the ramp to face into the wind. He added that he heard the lighter airplane receive a taxi clearance but did not hear any communications questioning the larger airplane's status or position with respect to any potential impact on aircraft taxiing behind them on the taxiway. He became aware of the lighter airplane's situation after the event when its pilot made a radio call to ground control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.