ANC19TA014

The pilot reported that the airplane encountered momentary severe turbulence while descending toward the destination airport. A passenger in the second row hit her head on the cabin ceiling and sustained a serious injury to her neck. The passenger stated that she was familiar with the operation of the seat belt and flew in the airplane about once or twice a month for many years, but on this flight, she did not tighten the lap belt sufficiently. Weather forecasts indicated that occasional to constant moderate turbulence was expected in the area; however, the pilot did not ensure that the passenger’s lap belt was appropriately fastened.

On February 13, 2019, about 1245 Alaska standard time, a Piper PA-32R-300 airplane, N40449, sustained no damage when it was involved in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska. One passenger received a serious injury, and the pilot and other passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 non-scheduled passenger flight. The pilot reported that during a visual flight rules flight from Lime Village Airport (AK2) to Merrill Field Airport (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, the airplane encountered momentary severe turbulence as it descended through 3,500 feet mean sea level (msl) about 22 miles northwest of Anchorage. One of the two passengers, who was seated in the second row right seat, hit her head on the cabin ceiling. The flight landed at MRI without incident and the passenger was treated at a medical facility, where it was determined that she sustained serious injuries. The injured passenger stated that her lap belt was fastened, but she did not tighten it enough. She was familiar with the use of the lap belt and flew with the company in the accident airplane once or twice a month for many years. She recalled that the pilot provided a passenger briefing, but could not remember if seat belt use was included. The pilot reported that they experienced occasional light turbulence during most of the flight and that significant turbulence was not forecast. The unexpected severe turbulence lasted about 5 seconds. A review of National Weather Service graphical forecast products for the area revealed a turbulence forecast issued at 0900 and valid for the time of the accident for occasional to constant moderate turbulence below 6,000 ft msl. The forecast issued at 1200 and valid for the time of the accident indicated isolated moderate turbulence transitioning to occasional to constant moderate turbulence from the surface to 8,000 ft msl with low level wind shear. A review of pilot reports indicated that the pilot of a similar airplane type experienced continuous moderate turbulence in the area of the encounter from 900 ft to 500 ft about 15 minutes after the occurrence.