- Date
- April 21, 2003, 16:10 local (20:10 UTC)
- Place
- Lithonia, GA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor, 184 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N504UABoeing 757-222
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report March 30, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Boeing, United Airlines, Federal Aviaition Adminstration
- FAA report
- 20030421008169A
- Case key
- 56923
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The flight into adverse weather encountered by the flight crew, and the flight attendant's restraint not available when she was informed to take her seat. The convective associated turbulence was a contributing factor.
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
A flight attendant received serious injuries when the domestic scheduled passenger flight encountered turbulence at flight level 290. The flightcrew were diverting around an area of convective activity when moderate turbulence was encountered with a strong updraft. The flight attendant reported that she received a message from another flight attendant to return to her seat and strap in. She was on her way back to the jump seat when the turbulence began. She reported that she "flew through the air" and hit her leg on a galley counter.
Factual narrative
On April 21, 2003, at 1610 eastern daylight time, a Boeing 757-222, N504UA, operated by United Airlines as flight 705, encountered turbulence during cruise at flight level (FL) 290 near Lithonia, Georgia. Instrument meteorological conditions with convective activity prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 121 domestic passenger flight was operating on an instrument rules flight plan. One flight attendant received minor injuries and a second flight attendant received serious injuries. The 2 flight crew, 3 remaining flight attendants, and 179 passengers reported no injuries. The flight originated from Orlando International Airport, Orlando, Florida, at 1520, en route to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois.
The flight crew reported deviating for weather. Air traffic control (ATC) cleared them to descend to flight level (FL) 290. The flight crew reported they could see the "end of the line of showers" to the north and deviated further to avoid showers. ATC then cleared them to climb to FL 310. During the climb, they experienced four to five seconds of turbulence, described as "moderate with a strong updraft for a few seconds." When they exited the top of the cloud layer, they were contacted by a flight attendant who indicated one of the flight attendants had been seriously injured. The first officer requested medical assistance and contacted dispatch to request paramedics to meet the airplane at ORD.
The injured flight attended reported receiving a message from another flight attendant to return to her seat and strap in. She stated she was on her way back to her jump seat when the turbulence started. She reported she "flew into the air" and her left leg hit a counter in the galley. The flight attendant received a fracture to her left tibia and fibia. She stated that two doctors on board the airplane came to help her after the turbulence had subsided.
The Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, and UAL were parties to the investigation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N504UA
- Reported as
- Boeing 757-222
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24625
- Airframe hours
- 44,627
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney PW2037, 37,000 lbs thrust, turbo fanPratt & Whitney PW2037, 37,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- United Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 6, 2002 · 3,423 hours before
- Departed
- MCO · Orlando, FL
- Destination
- ORD · Chicago, IL
- 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- December 1, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,564 total · 665 in this make and model
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- April 1, 2003
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 4,229 total · 2,340 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 220° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- ATL, 20 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.