Cessna 172M accident near Miami, Florida, December 8, 2023
On December 8, 2023 at about 5:02 pm local time, a 1974 Cessna 172M, registered N955PT, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi near Miami, Florida (Miami Executive Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
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.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 8, 2023 · about 5:02 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Executive Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M, built 1974 · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N955PT · registry record · serial 17264573
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
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.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Prop/jet/rotor blast/suction during taxi defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › Accuracy of communication › Pilot of other aircraft
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Understanding/comprehension › Pilot of other aircraft
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,557 hours in all; 870 in this make and model; 114 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 1,481 as pilot in command; 1,165 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 29, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 51 hours in all; 51 in this make and model; 51 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,322 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 5, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 6,597 hours total
- Operator: Pilot Training Center LLC
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,800 ft; scat at 3,800 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 am from TMB
Weather report (METAR): METAR KTMB 081653Z 10013G18KT 10SM SCT038 BKN048 26/18 A3015 RMK AO2 SLP208 T02560178=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
10 documents, released by the NTSB on July 2, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | N955PT - Flight Instructor and Student Pilot Statements | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 3 | N955PT - Attachment to Flight Instructor's Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | N334JE - Flight Crew Statements | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Memorandum for Record - Information Provided by FAA Inspector Forest Dodd | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Chronological Summary of Flight | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Ktmb ATC - Audio Recording (Flight Data and Clearance Delivery) | audio | View Download |
| 8 | Ktmb ATC - Audio Recording (Ground Control) | audio | View Download |
| 9 | Ktmb - Airport Diagram | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 10 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.