- Date
- July 12, 2013, 05:38 local (09:38 UTC)
- Place
- Atlanta, GA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 278 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N863DABoeing 777-232
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 87472
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
Unexpected encounter with convective turbulence while the flight attendants were preparing the cabin for arrival.
Findings · 1
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 and cabin crew statements, Atlanta Approach Control advised the crew that radar was showing an area of rain on the arrival route although the flight crew did not see any areas of precipitation on the airborne weather radar. During the descent to 11,000 feet the seatbelt sign was illuminated and the captain, who was the pilot monitoring, cycled the seatbelt sign and called the flight attendant (FA) at the 1L door via the interphone to notify the cabin crew to be seated. Before the 1L flight attendant was able to relay the message to all of the FAs to be seated, as they were all preparing the cabin for arrival, the airplane encountered several distinct jolts of turbulence. According to the flight data recorder data, as the airplane was descending through about 13,200 feet, the vertical acceleration fluctuated between +1.56 g's and +0.024 g's over a period of about 10 seconds. During the turbulence the 4Rc FA who was in the aisle near the 3R door was lifted into the air and fell back down to the floor on her feet and knees. The FA was assisted to the 3R jumpseat, the flight crew was notified of the injury, and they requested paramedics meet the airplane upon arrival The 4Rc FA was transported to the hospital where she was diagnosed with two broken ankles.
Factual narrative
According to the flight and cabin crew statements, Atlanta Approach Control advised the crew that radar was showing an area of rain on the arrival route although the flight crew did not see any areas of precipitation on the airborne weather radar. During the descent to 11,000 feet the seatbelt sign was illuminated and the captain, who was the pilot monitoring, cycled the seatbelt sign and called the flight attendant (FA) at the 1L door via the interphone to notify the cabin crew to be seated. Before the 1L flight attendant was able to relay the message to all of the FAs to be seated, as they were all preparing the cabin for arrival, the airplane encountered several distinct jolts of turbulence. According to the flight data recorder data, as the airplane was descending through about 13,200 feet, the vertical acceleration fluctuated between +1.56 g's and +0.024 g's over a period of about 10 seconds. During the turbulence the 4Rc FA who was in the aisle near the 3R door was lifted into the air and fell back down to the floor on her feet and knees. The FA was assisted to the 3R jumpseat, the flight crew was notified of the injury, and they requested paramedics meet the airplane upon arrival The 4Rc FA was transported to the hospital where she was diagnosed with two broken ankles.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N863DA
- Reported as
- Boeing 777-232
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 29735
- Engines
- Rolls-Royc RB.211 SERIES, 22,000 lbs thrust, turbo jetRolls-Royc RB.211 SERIES, 22,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Air Lines Inc
- Registered owner
- Delta Air Lines Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- OMDB · Dubai
- Destination
- KATL · Atlanta, GA
- 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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Last flight review
- May 5, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 13,394 total · 1,136 in this make and model · 5,757 as pilot in command · 87 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Last flight review
- January 15, 2013
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 9,499 total · 616 in this make and model · 517 as pilot in command · 94 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,800 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KATL, 29 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 1, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.3 MB in all.
Other investigations on N863DA · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.