N6955E – CESSNA 175A – 2013-04-20 NTSB Accident Report

On April 20, 2013, a Cessna 175A (N6955E) was involved in an incident near Albuquerque, NM. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot’s inability to maintain airplane control during taxi due to an inadvertent encounter with a dust devil.

The pilot reported that during his arrival to land he was aware of dust devils in the vicinity that were diminishing or moving away and were no factor. The airplane had just landed and was taxiing slowly on a taxiway when the pilot reported that another dust devil suddenly materialized about 300 feet to his left front. He had slowed to a stop by the time the dust devil engulfed the airplane which completely lifted the airplane about 3 feet off the taxiway surface. The airplane then impacted terrain on the right wingtip and propeller resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN13CA234. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N6955E.