A small aeroplane flipped onto its roof on the runway of a busy airport “because of a jet blast”. An investigation is underway after a small Cessna 172 flipped on the John Wayne Airport runway in Orange County, California, on Saturday. Firefighters rushed to the scene and were told that the plane was blown over by wind.
The Orange County Flight Centre (OCFC), which owns the aircraft, said the plane flipped upside down “because of a jet blast from a United or Southwest airline jet that was allowed to take off as our aircraft was leaving the ramp towards the taxiway”, CBS LA reports.
OCFC director Niki-A said: “One of our flight instructors and a student were in the aircraft when it flipped. Currently, there is a major reconstruction and realignment project ongoing at the airport, and general aviation aircraft are being adversely impacted by this project, and flight safety may be jeopardised.”
Neither the OCFC nor JWA said the Cessna flipped because of a “jet blast”. A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), however, read: “A Cessna 172 was blown over while taxiing behind United Airlines Flight 2611 at John Wayne Airport. The FAA will investigate.”
No injuries were reported following the incident.
The pilot and a student who were on board were interviewed by CBS. Student Kunal Gawli said: “We were scared. We were definitely scared. We were like, ‘What is happening?'”
Instructor Jason Ryu said: “As soon as we started to turn to the left to enter the parking lot, we experienced sudden, strong airflow. At that moment, we lost control completely, and the aeroplane started to tip over.”
