# Accident 19990303011519A: Saab SF340A, Atlanticcity, NJ, March 3, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 3, 1999, 15:30 local time
- Place: Atlanticcity, NJ
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: PLGA
- Location: 39.3773° N, 74.4511° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Atlantic City, NJ, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.3773&lon=-74.4511&mi=10
- Aircraft: N343BE (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: SAAB SF340A
- Reported engine: GE CT75A
- People aboard: 32
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 9,800 total, 7,500 in this make and model, 178 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB NYC99LA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99LA069) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990303011519A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON MARCH 3, 1999, ABOUT 1530 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A FLIGHT ATTENDANT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED WHEN A SAAB 340A, N343BE, OPERATING AS BUSINESS EXPRESS FLIGHT 6277, ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE ABOUT 40 NAUTICAL MILES NORTHEAST OF ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY. THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT DAMAGED, AND THE 2 PILOTS AND 30 PASSENGERS WERE UNINJURED. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE FLIGHT BETWEEN GENERAL EDWARD LAWRENCE LOGAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (BOS), BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (PHL), PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. THE SCHEDULED PASSENGER FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 121. ACCORDING TO A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) INSPECTOR, THE AIRPLANE WAS IN A DESCENT, AND THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT WAS IN HER SEAT, BUT NOT SECURED. WHEN THE TURBULENCE STRUCK, SHE WAS THROWN INTO THE AIR, AD THEN ONTO THE DECK. SHE REMAINED THERE UNTIL AFTER THE AIRPLANE'S ARRIVAL AT THE GATE, WHEN SHE WAS EVACUATED BY EMERGENCY MEDICAL PERSONNEL. THE CAPTAIN STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS AT APPROXIMATELY 7,000 FEET WHEN IT ENCOUNTERED UNEXPECTED SEVERE TURBULENCE. THE WEATHER RADAR WAS ON AND OPERATING NORMALLY, AND THE SEAT BELT SIGN WAS ILLUMINATED. THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF TURBULENCE ALONG THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT, AND THE FLIGHT HAD BEEN SMOOTH BOTH BEFORE, AND AFTER THE TURBULENCE EVENT. (-23)AIRCRAFT DECENDED OUT OF 10,000 FT OF 7,000 ON THE WAY DOWN HIT TURBULENCE.  FLIGHT ATTENDANT WAS TOSSED FROM HER SEAT, HIT CEILING AND WAS THROWN BACK INTO HER SEAT AND THEN ONTO THE FLOOR.  FLIGHT ATTENDANT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES-FRACTURED VERTEBRA.                                        (.4) THE AIRPLANE WAS IN A DESCENT, THE SEAT BELT SIGN WAS TURNED ON, AND THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT HAD RETURNED TO HER SEAT AFTER CONDUCTING A WALK-THROUGH. SHE WAS 'WAITING FOR THE 10 OUT CALL,' AND WAS NOT BELTED IN AT THE TIME. THE AIRPLANE ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE, AND THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT WAS THROWN FROM HER SEAT. HER HEAD HIT THE CEILING OF THE AIRPLANE, AND WHEN SHE CAME DOWN, SHE HIT HER BACK ON THE JUMPSEAT, WHICH HAD RETRACTED. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE AIRPLANE'S WEATHER RADAR WAS ON AND OPERATING NORMALLY. THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF TURBULENCE ALONG THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT, AND IT HAD BEEN SMOOTH BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER THE TURBULENCE EVENT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB NYC99LA069](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC99LA069), Mar 3, 1999: Saab-Scania 340A (N343BE), Atlantic City, NJ, no damage. Probable cause: Unanticipated in-flight turbulence.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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