- Date
- February 11, 1994, 10:35 local (15:35 UTC)
- Place
- Charlotte, NC
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 10 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N882CCBoeing DHC-8-102
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 18, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940211007059I
- Case key
- 3310
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
An inflight encounter with turbulence, and the flight attendant's failure to fasten her seatbelt.
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
The flight crew advised the flight attendant to prepare the cabin for landing. As she proceeded with her duties, the seat belt sign was turned on. Seconds later the airplane encountered an area of turbulence which threw the flight attendant to the ceiling, and she fell back to the floor on her left knee. According to an official from the airlines, the flight crew followed company procedures during the arrival phase of the flight.
Factual narrative
On February 11, 1994, at 1035 eastern standard time, a Boeing DHC-8-103, N882CC, operating as CCAIR Flight 8420, encountered turbulence during an instrument approach to the Charlotte/ Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina. The scheduled, domestic, passenger flight operated under 14 CFR Part 121 with a valid instrument approach clearance. Instrument weather conditions prevailed at the time of the incident. The airplane was not damaged and one passenger and the flight attendant sustained minor injuries. The scheduled flight departed Montgomery, Alabama, at 0830 central standard time.
According to the captain, he descended to 9000 feet, the assigned altitude for the approach. During the descent he instructed the flight attendant to prepare the cabin for landing and to be seated; he also turned on the fasten seat belt sign. About thirty eight miles from Charlotte, the flight entered an area of convective activity. While the flight attendant continued with her duties, the airplane entered an area of precipitation turbulence which threw the attendant up to the ceiling of the airplane and back to the floor. The flight attendant was assisted to a seat and remained there until the airplane landed.
A review of the airline's operating procedures disclosed that the flight crew operated within normal procedures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N882CC
- Reported as
- Boeing DHC-8-102
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 168
- Airframe hours
- 10,778
- Engine
- P&W PW120A, 1,800 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Ccair, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Mellon Financial Services Corp
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · February 2, 1994 · 81 hours before
- Departed
- MGM · Montgomery, AL
- Flight plan
- IFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 39
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 12,900 total · 1,500 in this make and model · 10,900 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 75 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 1.5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 300 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 30 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CLT, 38 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.