- Date
- November 29, 2015, 17:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- St Louis, MO
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 147 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N467WNBoeing 737 7H4
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 20, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 92381
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
an inadvertent encounter with clear air turbulence.
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
On November 29, 2015, at 5:15pm central standard time, Southwest Airlines flight 145, a Boeing 737-700, N467WN, encountered severe turbulence on descent to St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri. The airplane was descending between flight level 210 and flight level 180 with the seatbelt light illuminated. The flight attendants (FA) were completing cabin service, and the two FA's in the aft cabin fell, one experiencing a broken right foot and leg. None of the passengers were injured and the airplane was not damaged. The airplane was on a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Dallas Love Field (DAL).
Factual narrative
On November 29, 2015, at 5:15pm central standard time, Southwest Airlines flight 145, a Boeing 737-700, N467WN, encountered severe turbulence on descent to St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri. The airplane was descending between flight level 210 and flight level 180 with the seatbelt light illuminated. The flight attendants (FA) were completing cabin service, and the two FA's in the aft cabin fell, one experiencing a broken right foot and leg. None of the passengers were injured and the airplane was not damaged. The airplane was on a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Dallas Love Field (DAL).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N467WN
- Reported as
- Boeing 737 7H4 (7H4)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 33830
- Built
- 2004
- Airframe hours
- 41,478
- Engines
- CFM Intl. CFM56 SERIES, turbo fanCFM Intl. CFM56 SERIES, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Registered owner
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Commuter; Standard, Transport; Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KDAL · Dallas, TX
- Destination
- KSTL · St. Louis, MO
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KSTL · Lambert
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Electronic multifunction display, Angle of attack indicator, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Heads up display, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 25, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 16,300 total · 12,400 in this make and model · 7,000 as pilot in command · 225 in the last 90 days · 120 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
- 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, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 18, 2015
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 10,340 total · 3,869 in this make and model · 4,074 as pilot in command · 145 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,400 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 41 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Icing
- Unknown
- Turbulence
- Severe
- Observed at
- KSTL, 54 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 21, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports.