In this paper, a fault tolerant control strategy based on a combination of a standard state feedback linearization and quasi-continuous high-order sliding mode controller is proposed within a backstepping setting for a class of nonlinear systems. The proposed controller is based on a hierarchical application of the control methodology ensuring the finite time convergence of the desired variable in spite of the existence of faults. The effect of bounded measurement noise over the tracking accuracy is also studied. Finally, the proposed method is assessed on the nonlinear model of the F16 jet fighter.