A Cessna 172 Skyhawk, registration N57BM, carrying a flight instructor and a student, overturned at John Wayne Airport (SNA) at around 2:38 p.m. local time on Saturday, November 7. The aircraft ended up upside down on a general aviation ramp operated by ACI Jet, a fixed-base operator, before a crane righted it and towed it away. Neither person on board was injured, and the extent of damage to the aircraft is not yet known.
Air traffic control audio indicates the Cessna may have been caught in the jet blast of a United Airlines Boeing 737. The pilot of another Cessna 172 taxiing behind N57BM reported that the plane had "just flipped over" and said they had been "blasted" by a United Boeing 737 jet blast. The aircraft's operator, Orange County Flight Center, also attributed the incident to jet blast, telling CBS Los Angeles the Cessna overturned following jet blast from either "a United or Southwest jet" taking off as the Cessna left the ramp toward the taxiway, though it could not confirm which aircraft was responsible.
An airport spokesperson attributed the incident to high winds. Early reports suggested it happened on a runway, but the spokesperson confirmed it occurred on the ramp. According to Boeing, the area exposed to jet blast can extend up to 400 feet behind large jets at breakaway thrust, and as much as 1,900 feet at takeoff thrust. Similar incidents have occurred before: on March 6 this year, a Cessna 182 taxiing at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG) was flipped by the jet blast of a parked SkyWest Bombardier CRJ700, reportedly injuring both occupants.