Narrative:

I started a planned local flight from john wayne airport. Prior to starting the engine the local ATIS information was obtained. The ATIS report indicated wind was 'variable at 3 kts'. Taxi and run-up were uneventful with no issues noted with systems. Ground control gave clearance to taxi via alpha; hotel and charlie to hold short of 20L. During this taxi the brakes were used a number of times to control taxi speed; no issues were noted. Further instructions were given to cross runway 20L and hold short 20R on kilo. At this time a boeing 737 '737 #1' began takeoff roll and another boeing 737 '737 #2' was cleared to line up and wait 20R. 737 #2 was cleared to takeoff 20R; a turboprop was given instructions to position and hold 20R full length but never reached the runway prior to the incident. I was cleared to lineup and wait 20R at kilo. The brakes were released and a small amount of power was applied to roll the aircraft forward. The aircraft moved forward normally and power was used to maintain a walking pace. At all times during this time the elevator control was held fully aft. Upon crossing the left side runway white line the incident began and continued for the next few seconds until the prop struck the runway surface and the aircraft came to rest on its nose.the first unusual thing I noticed was a strong breeze with an associated whooshing noise which was noticeable due to it being an open cockpit aircraft. The wind did not have any noticeable odor as I would expect from turbofan engine exhaust and was not noticeably warm. The aircraft rudder pedals became unusually light compared to normal feel. In the next second the tail of the aircraft began to lift; the wings remained perfectly level (note that as the tail was lifting the biplane was still crossing onto the runway and the left wing was facing 737 #2 as it was taking off. No brakes were needed or applied at this time; just a small amount of power continued to be applied. As the tail came up further more aft pressure was applied to the control stick but it was already fully aft. The throttle was pulled to idle with no effect. An attempt was made to switch the magnetos to off but the prop struck before this could be achieved. The aircraft came to rest partially onto 20R about half way into the turn at about 45 degrees relative to the centerline. Mags were switched off and I evacuated the aircraft. After exiting the aircraft I felt a gentle breeze that seemed to me to be around 5-7kts from 220 degrees. No gusts or stronger wind was noticed.I am very familiar with sna runway operations and instructions given by controllers at this airport. Nothing I heard or was instructed to do that day was in any way unusual or unclear. The actions of all other pilots also appeared normal to me and accurately respected ATC instructions. I have operated on runway 20R many times in the presence of landing and departing jet traffic and was comfortable with the instructions given and at no time did I feel in danger or at undue risk.possible scenarios:a)737 #1 produced wake turbulence upon landing that was blown over my position as I began to taxi onto 20R. B)737 #2 created wake turbulence on takeoff which was blown to my position as I began to taxi.C)737 #2 produced jet blast upon takeoff which arrived at my positon.possible pilot remedy:I could have left more time before moving onto the runway. I moved forward upon receiving the instruction to taxi into position; some delay would have helped in all three of the scenarios suggested above. I was aware that the airport was operating efficiently and that the controllers were taking actions to minimize delay for the carriers (such as instructing the turboprop into position on 20R behind my aircraft). I did not feel any pressure to act unsafely from this desire to keep things moving but at the same time I would have felt uncomfortable leaving a large delay from the time of the instruction to starting my taxi movement.possible controller remedy:I feel that the controllers gave reasonable instructions and did not request any unsafe actions. However [this tailwheel] is very susceptible to wake turbulence/jet blast; perhaps some delay in issuing the clearance to taxi onto the runway after large jet movements would remove some need for judgement on the part of the pilot. That said I do not feel that any change is required to controller actions to avoid this incident in the future.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Tailwheel pilot reported a prop strike occurred during taxi when he encountered wake turbulence or jet blast from several B737 aircraft operating in the vicinity.

Narrative: I started a planned local flight from John Wayne Airport. Prior to starting the engine the local ATIS information was obtained. The ATIS report indicated wind was 'variable at 3 kts'. Taxi and run-up were uneventful with no issues noted with systems. Ground control gave clearance to taxi via Alpha; Hotel and Charlie to hold short of 20L. During this taxi the brakes were used a number of times to control taxi speed; no issues were noted. Further instructions were given to cross runway 20L and hold short 20R on Kilo. At this time a Boeing 737 '737 #1' began takeoff roll and another Boeing 737 '737 #2' was cleared to line up and wait 20R. 737 #2 was cleared to takeoff 20R; a turboprop was given instructions to position and hold 20R full length but never reached the runway prior to the incident. I was cleared to lineup and wait 20R at Kilo. The brakes were released and a small amount of power was applied to roll the aircraft forward. The aircraft moved forward normally and power was used to maintain a walking pace. At all times during this time the elevator control was held fully aft. Upon crossing the left side runway white line the incident began and continued for the next few seconds until the prop struck the runway surface and the aircraft came to rest on its nose.The first unusual thing I noticed was a strong breeze with an associated whooshing noise which was noticeable due to it being an open cockpit aircraft. The wind did not have any noticeable odor as I would expect from turbofan engine exhaust and was not noticeably warm. The aircraft rudder pedals became unusually light compared to normal feel. In the next second the tail of the aircraft began to lift; the wings remained perfectly level (note that as the tail was lifting the biplane was still crossing onto the runway and the left wing was facing 737 #2 as it was taking off. No brakes were needed or applied at this time; just a small amount of power continued to be applied. As the tail came up further more aft pressure was applied to the control stick but it was already fully aft. The throttle was pulled to idle with no effect. An attempt was made to switch the magnetos to OFF but the prop struck before this could be achieved. The aircraft came to rest partially onto 20R about half way into the turn at about 45 degrees relative to the centerline. Mags were switched off and I evacuated the aircraft. After exiting the aircraft I felt a gentle breeze that seemed to me to be around 5-7kts from 220 degrees. No gusts or stronger wind was noticed.I am very familiar with SNA runway operations and instructions given by controllers at this airport. Nothing I heard or was instructed to do that day was in any way unusual or unclear. The actions of all other pilots also appeared normal to me and accurately respected ATC instructions. I have operated on runway 20R many times in the presence of landing and departing jet traffic and was comfortable with the instructions given and at no time did I feel in danger or at undue risk.Possible Scenarios:A)737 #1 Produced wake turbulence upon landing that was blown over my position as I began to taxi onto 20R. B)737 #2 Created wake turbulence on takeoff which was blown to my position as I began to taxi.C)737 #2 Produced jet blast upon takeoff which arrived at my positon.Possible Pilot Remedy:I could have left more time before moving onto the runway. I moved forward upon receiving the instruction to taxi into position; some delay would have helped in all three of the scenarios suggested above. I was aware that the airport was operating efficiently and that the controllers were taking actions to minimize delay for the carriers (such as instructing the turboprop into position on 20R behind my aircraft). I did not feel any pressure to act unsafely from this desire to keep things moving but at the same time I would have felt uncomfortable leaving a large delay from the time of the instruction to starting my taxi movement.Possible Controller Remedy:I feel that the controllers gave reasonable instructions and did not request any unsafe actions. However [this tailwheel] is very susceptible to wake turbulence/jet blast; perhaps some delay in issuing the clearance to taxi onto the runway after large jet movements would remove some need for judgement on the part of the pilot. That said I do not feel that any change is required to controller actions to avoid this incident in the future.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.