Augusta, GA, USA
N307KP
Bombardier BD 700 1A10
The first officer of a Learjet was escorting passengers to the airplane, which was parked about 70 ft behind a Bombardier jet. A passenger was knocked over by the jet blast from the engines of the Bombardier as it began taxiing, resulting in serious injuries. Had the first officer waited to escort his passengers after the Bombardier had departed or maintained a safer distance from the Bombardier, it’s likely the passenger would not have been injured. The pilots of the Bombardier had shut down the left engine to deplane their passenger, restarted the engine, and were taxing back to the runway for takeoff when the accident occurred. They stated the rotating beacon was on and the right engine was running the entire time.
On October 13, 2019, at 1121 eastern daylight time, jet blast during ground operations from a Bombardier BD-700-1A10, N307KP, seriously injured a passenger being escorted to another airplane at Augusta Regional Airport (AGS), Augusta, Georgia. The Bombardier airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 flight. According to the injured passenger, she and six other passengers were being escorted by one of their pilots to a Learjet. She stated that she was about 70 ft from the Bombardier when she was knocked over by the jet blast from the engine. The first officer of the Learjet stated that he was walking to the airplane with two passengers, and the five remaining passengers were following behind them. As some of the passengers were about to board the airplane, he heard a loud roar and felt a strong, warm gust. He turned around and saw one of the passengers on the ground. He stated he initially thought the Bombardier only had its auxiliary power unit running and believed the airplane was far enough away. The crew of the Bombardier reported to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector they landed at AGS to drop off a passenger. They shut down the left engine and deplaned the passenger, restarted the left engine, and taxied back to the runway. The captain stated that he used normal breakaway power to get the airplane out of the parking spot, then taxied at normal speeds.
The first officer's failure to maintain a safe distance from a large turbine-powered airplane while escorting passengers, resulting in a passenger encounter with jet blast.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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