Dust devils, while often considered a harmless phenomenon, present significant hazards to aviation, according to a March 2024 video from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
In the video, NTSB meteorologist Paul Suffern notes that dust devils have been present in more than 170 accidents the NTSB has investigated since 1982.
The video explains what dust devils are and how pilots can detect and avoid them.
A full safety alert is available at NTSB.gov.
I flew into one in an Ag Cat. I was in a right bank doing a turn-a-round maybe 100 feet above an irrigated corn field which is why I didn’t see it, no dust. It threw me into a 90 degree left bank, which required full right aileron, right rudder and full nose down to keep from rolling any further left. I figured out what had happened when I look straight down from the left side of the cockpit and could see the corn swirling around in circles. It just hung there for what seemed like an eternity before everything went back to normal, Had I been in a left bank when I hit it, it would have rolled me straight into the ground. Some of us are just luckier than others.
Great video- dust devils are very common in the high desert areas of northern CA and are often seen moving across our pastures. I’ve only seen one from the air but their danger can’t be stressed enough.