- Date
- December 22, 1986, 21:05 local (Dec 23, 1986, 02:05 UTC)
- Place
- Dublin, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 4 minor, 131 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N369AUBoeing 737-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19861222072299A
- Case key
- 7360
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
While clbg to FL 350, usair flt 95 enctrd cont 'light chop,' so crew lvld at FL 310 & left the seat belt sign on. They inquired about turbc ahead & were adzd of rprtd lgt/mod chop & 1 enctr with svr turbc at FL260. Clnc was rcvd to dscnd to FL 240. Drg dscnt, the acft enctrd severe turbc. The capt declared an emerg & the dscnt was contd to FL 200. The captnoted turbc lasted aprx 1.5 min btn FL 270 & FL 210. There were no clds; the vis (at ngt) was unlimited. The flt attend-ants were unrestrained; 1 was seriously injured & 3 received minor injuries. A SIGMET was in effect which forcast mod tooclnly severe turbc btn FL 240 & FL 350 in an area west of the acft's flt path. Inv showed an inconsistency in the dis- semination of center wx advisories (cwa's) & sigmets. Altho cwa's & sigmets had the same lvl of priority for ATC & fss use, cwa's were not disseminated ovr 604 & 135 wx circuits. Usair received wx info via faa's 604 & 135 circuits, so did not have cwa info for wx briefings. Wx study showed turbc was enctrd where subtropical & polar jet streams converged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N369AU
- Reported as
- Boeing 737-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 23319
- Airframe hours
- 1,236
- Engine
- P&W JT8D, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Usair
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- PIT · Pittsburgh, PA
- Destination
- TPA · Tampa, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 28,600 total · 800 in this make and model · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GSO, 90 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.