‘Gustnado’ Takes Out Kansas City Flight School Fleet

The busy part 141 flight school lost 11 of its 13 aircraft the morning of April 20 when strong winds, known as a gustnado, blew through the area. The aircraft, normally kept in a hangar, were parked on the ramp because the hangar was being prepared to host a fashion show fundraiser for cancer survivors.

Following the incident, social media posts circulating throughout the Kansas City aviation community alleged that the aircraft moved out onto the ramp before the storm hit the area were chocked but had not been tied down in spite of the forecast weather conditions.

The ramp is controlled by Signature Flight Support. A company spokesperson from Signature confirmed in a statement to FLYING that there was an incident at Signature's KMKC airport location that "involved several aircraft that were damaged because of very severe and unusual weather conditions."

"The safety and security of our customers and employees is our top priority and we followed standard operating procedures to protect the aircraft staged on the ramp. We are working closely with local authorities and the impacted customer to address the immediate situation. The incident remains under investigation.”

The statement continued, saying that the aircraft were removed from the hangar to prepare "for a long-standing, annual fundraising event for a local nonprofit organization. The customer was informed in advance that this would take place. It is not true that the aircraft were not chocked. We followed standard operating procedures to protect the aircraft—in this case, aircraft were triple-chocked." 

The spokesperson did not confirm if the aircraft were tied down.

Although the forecast warned of severe weather, the aircraft were not tied down. Gustnados, according to the National Weather Service, are not considered tornadoes. The peak winds from Thursday's storm were estimated to have reached 65 mph. Photos of the aftermath flooded social media. They show aircraft, most of them Pipers, flipped over and some up against a fence. At least one was over the fence. The aircraft have crushed tails and bent wings.

According to the flight school's webpage, they offer flight training from private pilot through Airline Transport Pilot. Officials from the flight school did not respond to FLYING's request for comment.