# NTSB CHI04LA196: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82, N585AA, Sheridan, IL, July 16, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 15, 2004, 23:04 local (Jul 16, 2004, 04:04 UTC) - Place: Sheridan, IL - Coordinates: 41.511665, -88.705833 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.5117&lon=-88.7058&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 29 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 7, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration, American Airlines Inc. - NTSB case key (mKey): 59899 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI04LA196 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59899/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI04LA196 ## Probable cause The convection induced turbulence and the flight attendant not being restrained. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, descent - weather condition - turbulence,convection induced (cause) - seat belt - not used, flight attendant (cause) ## Analysis A McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 scheduled passenger carrying flight encountered turbulence upon entering "buildup" while descending through 15,000 feet mean sea level (MSL). Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed prior to entering the cloud. The only injury to those aboard was to a flight attendant who was not seated and restrained at the time of the encounter. The seat belt sign had been on but the flight attendants were not instructed to be seated. The captain stated that weather radar displayed a faint green return from the cloud before the event. No lightning or precipitation was observed from the cloud. The first officer stated the radar showed some activity south of their course. The radar indicated a line of three or four well defined cells on the 80-mile range "painting green." They saw lightning "well" south of the airplane. Directly ahead, on the northern most side of the line, the radar displayed five to seven green dots. They estimated the top to be about 17,000 feet MSL. ## Factual narrative On July 15, 2004, at 2304 central daylight time, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82, N585AA, operated by American Airlines Inc., as flight 1114, encountered turbulence during descent through 17,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) about 1.6 nautical miles southwest of Sheridan, Illinois. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 121 passenger flight was operating on an instrument rules flight plan. One flight attendant was seriously injured. The flight originated from Albuquerque International Sunport Airport, Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 1916 mountain daylight time, en route to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) Chicago, Illinois, where it landed without incident. The captain stated the airplane was in a clean configuration, speed brakes retracted, wing level, and approximately 3-5 degrees nose low when they encountered "moderate turbulence" with a "severe bump" within a cloud. The gross weight of the airplane was 102,000 pounds. The seat belt sign had been on for at least three minutes. According to the captain, weather radar displayed a faint green return from the cloud before the event. No lightening or precipitation was observed from the cloud. The first officer stated the radar showed some activity south of their course. The radar indicated a line of three or four well defined cells on the 80-mile range "painting green." They saw lightening "well" south of the airplane. Directly ahead, on the northern most side of the line, the radar displayed five to seven green dots. They were descending through 15,000 feet MSL in clear night conditions. They could see the buildup in front of them and estimated the top to be about 17,000 feet MSL. He asked the captain if he wanted to come left but he captain declined. The first officer asked if he was to sit the flight attendants down. The captain said he would take care of it and gave the 'Prepare for landing' over the public address. They entered the buildup at 280 knots and experienced sudden moderate to severe turbulence. The captain turned left and they were out of the turbulence in less than 10 seconds. A flight attendant sustained a broken ankle following the turbulence event. There was no damage to the airplane. Flight data recorder information provided by American Airlines Inc., recorded at N 41 degrees 30.7 minutes, W 088 degrees 42.35 minutes, maximum and minimum vertical accelerations of +2.25 g and -0.52 g. The Federal Aviation Administration and American Airlines Inc., were parties to the investigation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N585AA](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N585AA), registered now, S/N 53248, built 1991 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 - Registry model: [Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82(MD-82)](https://openairdocs.org/model/mcdonnell-douglas-dc-9-82-md-82) (registry code 3022082) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney JT8D series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-jt8d-series) (registry code 52053, turbo-jet) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 53248 - Airframe hours: 38355 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney JT8D 21000 lbs thrust turbo fan - Damage: No damage - Flight: Part 121 - Registered owner: American Airlines Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Transport - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, July 26, 2004, 28 hours before - Departed: ABQ, ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Destination: ORD, CHICAGO, IL - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: ORD, Chicago O'Hare Intl ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 14,500 total, 9,800 in this make and model, 6,922 as pilot in command, 219 in the last 90 days, 80 in the last 30 days, 9 in the last 24 hours - Co-pilot; age 45; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: right; flight hours: 16,000 total, 8,700 in this make and model, 7,400 as pilot in command ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 240° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 63 °F - Altimeter: 29.87 inHg - Observed at: ARR, 18 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040715028289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040715028289A), Jul 15, 2004: Doug DC982, Joliet, IL. (-23) On July 15, 2004, at 2304 CDT, a DC-9-80, N585AA, operated by American airlines as flight 1114, encountered turbulence during descent through 17,000' MSL… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.