- Date
- May 27, 2008, 10:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Dallas, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 24 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N816AEEmbraer 140
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Clear air turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 28, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- FAA report
- 20080527857569I
- Case key
- 68102
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's inadvertent encounter with turbulence.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
According to the flight crew the flight was carried out in smooth air for most of the way to Dallas. When the flight reached a point about 40 nm west of Bowie VOR, at 17,000 feet altitude, and as the airplane overflew a small cloud, the airplane was abruptly jolted by turbulence. The autopilot disconnected and was immediately reactivated by the flight crew. During the turbulence encounter, an elderly female passenger fell to the floor near the lavatory and suffered a broken ankle.
Factual narrative
On May 27, 2008, at about 10:00 AM central daylight time, American Eagle flight 3646, an Embraer 140, inadvertently flew through turbulent air. The seat belt sign was off at the time and an unbelted passenger received a serious injury. The flight had departed Springfield, MO (SGF), and subsequently landed uneventfully at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), its planned destination. According to the flight crew, the flight was carried out in smooth air for most of the way to Dallas. When the flight reached a point about 40 nm west of Bowie VOR, at 17,000 feet altitude, and as the airplane overflew a small cloud, the airplane was abruptly jolted by turbulence. The autopilot disconnected and was immediately reactivated by the flight crew. During the turbulence encounter, an elderly female passenger fell to the floor near the lavatory and suffered a broken ankle.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N816AE
- Reported as
- Embraer 140 (LR)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 145552
- Engines
- Rolls Royce AE 3007A, 7,420 lbs thrust, turbo fanRolls Royce AE 3007A, 7,420 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- American Airlines, doing business as American Eagle Airlines
- Registered owner
- American Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- SGF · Springfield, MO
- Destination
- DFW · Arlington, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DFW · Dallas Fort Worth IAP
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
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown
- Flight hours
- 7,439 total · 1,203 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 28, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 446 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.