American B738 enroute on Feb 5th 2019, severe turbulence injures flight attendant
Last Update: March 2, 2022 / 15:26:31 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 5, 2019
Classification
Accident
Airline
American Airlines
Flight number
AA-1204
Departure
San Jose, Costa Rica
Destination
Miami, United States
Aircraft Registration
N852NN
Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-800
ICAO Type Designator
B738
The FAA reported the flight attendant sustained a fractured ankle.
On Mar 26th 2020 the NTSB reported the occurrence was rated an accident and is being investigated by the NTSB.
On Mar 2nd 2022 the NTSB released their final report (investigation docket) concluding the probable cause of the accident was:
An inadvertent encounter with clear air turbulence.
The NTSB analysed:
On February 5, 2019, about 0733 central standard time, American Airlines flight 1204, N852NN, a Boeing 737-823, encountered severe turbulence during climb. Of the 119 passengers and crew onboard, one flight attendant received a serious injury and another flight attendant received minor injuries. The airplane was not damaged. The regularly scheduled international passenger flight was operating under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) San Jose, Costa Rica, to Miami International Airport (MIA), Miami, Florida.
The captain was the pilot flying and the copilot was pilot monitoring. The flight was climbing through FL310 to the planned cruising altitude when the flight encountered moderate to severe clear air turbulence. According to the flight crew, the seatbelt sign was on when the turbulence occurred. The turbulence subsided after about one and a half minutes and occurred during daylight, in visual meteorological conditions, and with no indications of convective weather in the area.
At the time of the turbulence, two flight attendants (FA) had just started to prepare for beverage service in the aft galley when they were thrown to the floor. Both FAs crawled to the last row of seats as the turbulence continued. The two FAs were then assisted for the remainder of the flight by to passenger medical professionals. After landing, the FAs were transported to the hospital where one was diagnosed with a broken foot and the other with minor bruises.
Aircraft Registration Data
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 5, 2019
Classification
Accident
Airline
American Airlines
Flight number
AA-1204
Departure
San Jose, Costa Rica
Destination
Miami, United States
Aircraft Registration
N852NN
Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-800
ICAO Type Designator
B738
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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