# NTSB DCA05MA083: Boeing 767-232, N113DA, Raleigh-Durham, NC, July 11, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Major investigation · Final report - Date: July 11, 2005, 19:00 local (23:00 UTC) - Place: Raleigh-Durham, NC - Coordinates: 35.400001, -80.666664 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.4000&lon=-80.6667&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 186 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 30, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Major Investigations Division - Parties: The Boeing Company, FAA Delta Airlines CMO, Air Line Pilot's Association, Delta Air Lines - NTSB case key (mKey): 61946 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DCA05MA083 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61946/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=61946 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA05MA083 ## Probable cause An inadvertent in-flight encounter with clear air turbulence. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, cruise - weather condition - turbulence,clear air (cause) ## Analysis The captain stated that after takeoff he waited until FL370, and well past the line of weather, to turn off the seat belt light. The flight was smooth for about 10 to 15 minutes, and they transited in and out of cirrus clouds, with the weather radar being used to scan from the 160 to 40 mile range, and with no weather being noted. As the flight progressed he said they encountered moderate turbulence for about 10 to 15 seconds, and he immediately made an announcement for the flight attendants and passengers to sit. Shortly thereafter the captain said he was informed that a flight attendant had been injured. The first officer stated that as the flight climbed they easily transited between two cells, entered clear skies, and was in smooth air. The seat belt sign had been turned off, and the captain continued searching the area with the weather radar. The first officer said that although there were some intermittent high cirrus clouds, there was no weather that would pose problems along the route of flight. About 10 to15 minutes after level-off, the first officer said the airplane hit what he would call severe turbulence, and both he and the captain were tossed about in their seats. They were initially unable to either grab the flight controls, or turn on the seat belt sign, and after the initial big bump, the first officer said "he grabbed the controls (it was my leg), and followed through with the thrust levers and yoke." According to the first officer, as soon as able the captain turned on the seat belt sign, made the announcement for everyone to sit down, and they soon heard a flight attendant make an announcement asking for a doctor. All flight attendants provided statements that were consistent, affirming that there had been turbulence, and that the seat belt sign was not lit during the turbulence prior to the accident. The NTSB conducted studies of airplane's DFDR, as well a study of the weather around the time of the accident. Examination of the DFDR revealed information affirming that the autopilot had been engaged, and consistent with there having been an encounter with turbulence. The weather study examined many weather products and provided data consistent with there being convectively induced turbulence in the vicinity of strong to severe thunderstorms. ## Factual narrative On July 11, 2005, about 1900 eastern daylight time, Delta Air Lines flight 952, a Boeing 767-232, N113DA, experienced moderate turbulence, about 20 nautical miles northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina, while in cruise at FL370, and diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Morrisville, North Carolina. Of the 179 passengers and 8 crewmembers onboard, a passenger and some flight attendants received minor injuries, and one flight attendant received serious injuries. The flight was operating under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 121, and was en route from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Atlanta, Georgia, to La Guardia Airport (LGA), Flushing, New York. The captain stated that his flight was the last aircraft to depart to the northeast, after which FAA Air Traffic Control (ATC) ceased all northeast departures. He further stated that he had left the fasten seatbelt light lit for about 25 minutes, until we flew through a hole in the weather. There had only been occasional light turbulence, and a request for a "ride report" from ATC, resulted in a response stating that there had been no complaints. The captain said that he waited until reaching FL370, and was well past the line of weather to turn off the seat belt light. The flight was smooth for about 10 to 15 minutes, and they were transiting in and out of cirrus clouds, with the weather radar being used to scan from the 160 to 40 mile range, and with absolutely nothing but ground clutter being noted. He said the flight encountered moderate turbulence for about 10 to 15 seconds just south of High Point, and he immediately made a public announcement (PA) for the flight attendants and passengers to sit down. He also asked the ATC controller if the ATC radar showed any weather, and the controller responded saying, "no, the only weather I see is well behind you." The captain said he then overheard a flight attendant make a PA announcement requesting a doctor, and he told the controller of a possible diversion to Raleigh-Durham (RDU) International Airport. About the same time he said a flight attendant advised the cockpit that a flight attendant had been injured. The captain then assessed the situation, the flight was diverted, and otherwise uneventful landing was made at RDU, where the flight attendant was evacuated from the airplane. The first officer stated that the flight departed late, and that the Atlanta, Georgia, area was still feeling the effects of Hurricane Dennis, which had passed through the area the day before. There were off-and-on rain showers over the airport, along with moderate winds, but no weather presented itself that had been of concern for an immediate departure. The first officer stated that preflight, start, taxi and the take-off were uneventful, and the flight was cleared direct to "AHN." As the flight progressed there was convective weather off the airplane's nose, and the controller told the flight crew that they could deviate left of course, as much as was necessary, and to proceed to "LIB" when able. The flight easily transited between the two cells, entered clear skies, and continued the climb to FL370, direct to LIB, in smooth air. The seat belt sign had been turned off, and according to the first officer, the captain continued searching the area with the weather radar. Although there were some intermittent high cirrus clouds, no weather was noted that would pose problems along the route of flight. About 10 to15 minutes after level-off, the first officer said the airplane hit what he would call severe turbulence, and both he and the captain were tossed about in their seats. They were initially unable to either grab the flight controls, or turn on the seat belt sign, and after the initial big bump, the first officer said "he grabbed the controls (it was my leg), and followed through with the thrust levers and yoke." He said the autopilot did not disengage, and it absorbed the increase and following decrease in altitude, as well as the eventual 400-plus-foot altitude gain. According to the first officer, the turbulence lasted about ten to fifteen seconds. As soon as able the captain turned on the seat belt sign, made the PA announcement for everyone to sit down, and according to the first officer, they immediately heard the "A-Line make the announcement asking for a doctor on the airplane." He said that he and the captain immediately knew something was wrong, so the captain called back and spoke to the flight attendants. The first officer said he listened in on the conversation, and upon conclusion, the captain told him to keep flying the airplane while he went back to take a look. The first officer said he then called ATC and told them to standby that they may have to divert because they had hit turbulence and that one of the flight attendants may have been injured. While the captain was engaged in assessing the situation with the flight attendant, the first officer said he researched and found that Raleigh-Durham International Airport seemed to the best choice of places to divert, given its location and weather. When the captain returned to the cockpit, he directed that the first officer continue flying the airplane, while he coordinated with flight control. The flight then diverted to RDU, and otherwise uneventful landing was made. Upon arrival at the gate in RDU, the flight attendant was taken off the aircraft, and after about two hours the flight proceeded on to LGA. All flight attendants provided statements pertinent to the event that were consistent, and their statements are included in the docket. Of the six, one of the flight attendants stated that shortly after takeoff, the captain made a PA about weather in the area, saying that he would be leaving the seat belt sign on a little longer than normal. The flight attendant further stated that the captain turned the sign off relatively soon, and all the flight attendants then got up and began cabin service. The flight attendant said she was working in first class with another flight attendant, and as they were in the galley the flight attendant with whom she had partnered commented on the rough air. The other flight attendant was delivering trays of food, and that she was delivering drinks. As she walked down the left aisle with a tray of drinks, the flight attendant said that severe turbulence hit their airplane. The seat belt sign was not on, and she said she flew up in the air, landing on her lower back and buttocks, while the drinks flew into the air. Flight attendants working in the main cabin had the food carts in the aisle at row 10, and they all fell to the ground as well. The beverage cart was then unattended and appeared as if it might fall on the passengers, so the flight attendant said she stood up and pulled the cart to the first class galley, at that time that she saw another flight attendant on the ground, with what appeared to be a broken leg. Another flight attendant attended to the injured flight attendant, while a PA was made for a doctor. The flight attendant said she then briefed the captain, and the flight readily diverted to RDU, where the injured flight attendant was taken off the aircraft by emergency medical personnel. The flight later departed for LGA, and the flight attendant said that both during the flight and later, while in her hotel room, she experiencing severe lower back pain, …shooting down to my right foot. According to the flight attendant, the accident turbulence event had been the worst she had ever experienced in her career. A second flight attendant stated that after takeoff the seatbelt sign had remained on due to rough air in the area, and that after the sign was turned off, flight attendants began beverage service, with two flight attendants serving on the right side of the cabin, leaving the accident flight attendant and herself on the left. She had just served beverages when they fir ## Aircraft - Registration: N113DA (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Boeing 767-232 - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 22225 - Airframe hours: 68537 - Engines: General Electric CFA-80A2 48000 lbs thrust turbo fan; General Electric CFA-80A2 48000 lbs thrust turbo fan - Damage: No damage - Flight: Part 121 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Transport - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, July 1, 2005 - Departed: ATL, Atlanta, GA - Destination: LGA, New York, NY - Flight plan: IFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1; last flight review September 1, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 9,080 total, 141 in the last 90 days, 71 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: 130° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 18,000 ft broken - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 73 °F - Altimeter: 30.06 inHg - Observed at: CLT, 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050711017559A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050711017559A), Jul 11, 2005: Boeing 767232, Huntersville, NC. (-23) Delta flight 952, 757-200, 37,000FT, 20 miles northeast of clt in route from atl to lga, encountered turbulence while navigating cells. During turbulence… ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 25, 2008, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=61946. 3.4 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 657 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40431232&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Meteorology 5 - Factual Report of Group Chairman (item 2, .PDF, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40431231&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Meteorology%205%20-%20Factual%20Report%20of%20Group%20Chairman-Master.PDF - Flight Data Recorder 10 - Specialist' Factual Report (item 3, .PDF, 466 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40292671&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Flight%20Data%20Recorder%2010%20-%20Specialist%27%20Factual%20Report-Master.PDF - Reports from Federal Agencies: Excerpt of FAA Package (item 4, .PDF, 569 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40292845&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Reports%20from%20Federal%20Agencies%3A%20Excerpt%20of%20FAA%20Package-Redacted.PDF - Other Pertinent Forms and Reports: Flight Attendant Statements (item 5, .PDF, 146 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40292846&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Other%20Pertinent%20Forms%20and%20Reports%3A%20Flight%20Attendant%20Statements-Master.PDF - Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 6, .PDF, 447 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40292847&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.PDF 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.