# Accident 20090827049429A: Boeing 717-200, Inverness, FL, August 27, 2009

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 27, 2009, 16:03 local time
- Place: Inverness, FL
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Climb
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: ZZDA
- Location: 29.0000° N, 82.9000° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.0000&lon=-82.9000&mi=10
- Aircraft: N994AT, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N994AT) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Boeing 717-200 (registry code 1383700, https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-717-200) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rolls-Royce BR-700 series (registry code 54565, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rolls-royce-br-700-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BOEING 717-200
- People aboard: 84
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 18,350 total, 8,642 in this make and model, 197 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA09LA488](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA488) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090827049429A

## Narrative

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

AIRTRAN AIRWAYS FLIGHT 163, A BOEING 717-200, N994AT, ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE WHILE IN CLIMB NEAR INVERNESS, FLORIDA, DURING WHICH ONE FLIGHT ATTENDANT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. ACCORDING TO THE FLIGHT CREW THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC) WITH "VERY MILD LIGHT CHOP" CLIMBING THROUGH FLIGHT LEVEL 250 WHEN IT ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE FOR ABOUT 10 SECONDS. THE FLIGHT CREW REPORTED THAT THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF TURBULENCE FROM OTHER AIRCRAFT OR ATC AND NO THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS DISPLAYED ON THE RADAR.  DURING THE TURBULENCE ENCOUNTER THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT'S LEG WAS INJURED WHEN BOTH THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT AND THE SERVICE CART "CAME OFF THE FLOOR", AND THE CART STRUCK THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT'S LEG. THE EXTENT OF THE INJURY WAS SUCH THAT THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT COULD NOT CONTINUE TO PERFORM HER ASSIGNED DUTIES. THE INJURY WAS SUBSEQUENTLY DIAGNOSED AS A FRACTURED TIBIA AND A CRUSHED ANKLE.

## 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 ERA09LA488](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA488), Aug 27, 2009: Boeing 717-200 (N994AT), Inverness, FL, no damage. Probable cause: The flight crew's encounter with convective turbulence. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the operator's dispatch department to provide the flightcrew with current adverse weather…

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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