# NTSB DCA16IA215: Airbus A320 232, N632JB, Wood, SD, August 12, 2016 - Type: NTSB incident investigation - Classification: Incident · Minor injuries · Incident investigation · Final report - Date: August 11, 2016, 20:09 local (Aug 12, 2016, 01:09 UTC) - Place: Wood, SD - Coordinates: 43.498611, -100.480003 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.4986&lon=-100.4800&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Turbulence encounter](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 27 minor, 124 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 22, 2020 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Major Investigations Division - NTSB case key (mKey): 93818 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DCA16IA215 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93818/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93818 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA16IA215 ## Probable cause an inadvertent encounter with convective turbulence while in cruise flight. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Turbulence: convective turbulence](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03032020): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Effect on personnel (probable cause); cases with it: [Airbus A320-232, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03032020/cases.md?model=3940004), [All aircraft, 145 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03032020/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Turbulence encounter](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360) (defining event); cases with it: [Airbus A320-232, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360/sequence.md?model=3940004), [All aircraft, 423 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360/sequence.md) ## Analysis The scheduled passenger flight was enroute at a cruise altitude of flight level 320 (FL320), when the airplane encountered severe turbulence. Of the 2 pilots, 3 flight attendants, and 146 passengers onboard, all three flight attendants and 28 passengers sustained minor injuries. The pilots subsequently diverted to a nearby airport and landed without further incident. The pilots reported that the onboard weather radar depicted some precipitation along the route, and the captain informed the flight attendants to remain seated and turned the seatbelt sign on. After the flight exited some of the light precipitation, the crew observed cumulonimbus clouds ahead and subsequently requested and were granted a deviation around the clouds; however, the airplane encountered turbulence as it flew through the edge of the clouds. The first officer stated that it "felt like they went up and then dropped," and the captain described the encounter as "very violent and very quick." The flight attendants reported that the flight had been experiencing light turbulence when the captain called to state that it would continue for the next 30 to 45 minutes. One of the flight attendants made a public address announcement to the passengers to remain seated with their seatbelts on; at this time, all three of the flight attendants were seated in their jumpseats. The turbulence continued for about 10 minutes before it smoothed out, and all three flight attendants got up from their seats to conduct various tasks throughout the cabin. The airplane subsequently encountered what they described as "extreme," "violent" turbulence, and all three sustained injuries. A review of the flight plan showed convective SIGMETs and thunderstorms that were forecasted and valid on or near the route of flight. The pilots reported that they only saw areas of green returns on their onboard radar and did not see any indication of severe weather. Additionally, there were no pilot reports (PIREPs) to indicate that other aircraft were encountering severe turbulence, nor did air traffic control provide any information to indicate that they might encounter such turbulence. ## Factual narrative On August 11, 2016, about 2010 central daylight time, JetBlue Airways flight 429, an Airbus A-320-232, N632JB, encountered severe turbulence while in cruise flight and diverted to the Rapid City Regional Airport (KRAP), Rapid City, South Dakota. Of the 151 passengers and crew onboard, 31 received minor injuries. The flight was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (KBOS), Boston, Massachusetts, to Sacramento International Airport (KSMF), Sacramento, California. The flight departed on schedule, and the taxi, takeoff, and initial climb were uneventful. The captain was the pilot flying and the first officer (FO) was the pilot monitoring at the time of the event. The captain reported that the flight had been experiencing intermittent "light chop" turbulence and that they had queried air traffic control (ATC) to see if a higher altitude might provide a smoother flight. When the controller advised that the turbulence would be worse at a higher altitude, they decided to remain at flight level 320. Shortly before the turbulence encounter, the onboard weather radar depicted precipitation ahead, and the controller advised of moderate precipitation; the captain subsequently informed the flight attendants to be seated in their jumpseats and turned the seatbelt sign on. After the flight exited some of the light precipitation, the crew observed cumulonimbus clouds and requested and were subsequently cleared for a deviation to the left; however, the airplane encountered turbulence as it flew through the edge of the clouds. The captain described the turbulence as "very violent and very quick." During the turbulence encounter, computed airspeed increased from about 275 knots (kts) to 285 knots as the airplane was in a left bank, and the vertical acceleration increased to +1.7 g. After fluctuating at positive g values for about 6 seconds, the vertical acceleration began to decrease, reaching a maximum negative value of 0.75 g. The flight attendants stated that the flight had been experiencing light turbulence when the captain called them to state that "it would be like this" for the next 30 to 45 minutes. One of the flight attendants made an announcement to the passengers to remain seated with their seatbelts on; at this time, all three of the flight attendants were seated in their jumpseats. The turbulence continued for about 10 minutes before it smoothed out, and all three flight attendants got up from their seats to conduct various tasks throughout the cabin. The airplane subsequently encountered what they described as "extreme," "violent" turbulence, and all three sustained injuries. After the turbulence encounter, the captain contacted the flight attendants via the interphone, who informed him that they were injured. The captain decided to divert to KRAP and transferred control to the FO so that he could go back to the cabin andassess the injuries. A review of the flight plan showed convective SIGMETs and thunderstorms were forecasted and valid on or near the route of flight. The pilots reported that they only saw areas of green returns on their onboard radar and did not see any indication of severe weather. Additionally, there were no pilot reports (PIREPs) to indicate that other aircraft were encountering severe turbulence nor any advisories of turbulence from air traffic control. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N632JB](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N632JB), registered now, S/N 2647, built 2006 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AIRBUS A320 232 (232) - Registry model: [Airbus A320-232](https://openairdocs.org/model/airbus-a320-232) (registry code 3940004) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [IAE V2500SERIES](https://openairdocs.org/engine/iae-v2500series) (registry code 34601, turbo-jet) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2647 - Year built: 2006 - Engines: IAE V2500SERIES 9895 horsepower turbo fan; IAE V2500SERIES 9895 horsepower turbo fan - Damage: Minor damage - Flight: Part 121 - Operator: JetBlue Airways - Registered owner: Jetblue Airways Corp - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Transport - Departed: KBOS, Boston, MA - Destination: KSMF, Sacramento, CA - Flight plan: IFR ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Night - Lowest ceiling: 45,000 ft broken ## Docket (27 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 6, 2020, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93818. 35.8 MB in all. - Flight data recorder (FDR) - specialist's factual report (item 1, PDF, 29 pages, 22 photos, 7.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4125006&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=DCA16IA215_fdr_factual_v02_final-Rel.pdf - Flight data recorder (FDR) - attachment 1 - tabular data (compressed zip archive) (item 2, ZIP, 4.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4124162&FileExtension=zip&FileName=final_attach1-Rel.zip - Flight data recorder (FDR) - specialist's factual report - addendum 1 (spoilers) (item 3, PDF, 4 pages, 2 photos, 194 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4379201&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=DCA16IA215_fdr_factual_addendum_1_spoilers_v1-Rel.pdf - Flight data recorder (FDR) - addendum 1 - attachment 1 (spoilers) (item 4, ZIP, 969 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4379532&FileExtension=zip&FileName=final_addendum_1_attachment_1-Rel.zip - Weather study (item 5, PDF, 33 pages, 5.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4923414&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA16IA215_Study-Rel.pdf - Attachment 1 to the weather study (item 6, PDF, 22 pages, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4924058&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA16IA215_Attachment_1-Rel.pdf - Attachment 2 to the weather study (item 7, PDF, 22 pages, 1.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4924455&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA16IA215_Attachment_2-Rel.pdf - Attachment 3 to the weather study (item 8, PDF, 22 pages, 625 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4923785&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA16IA215_Attachment_3-Rel.pdf - Attachment 4 to the weather study (item 9, PDF, 22 pages, 988 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4924464&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA16IA215_Attachment_4-Rel.pdf - Attachment 5 to the weather study (item 10, PDF, 7 pages, 197 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=4923980&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA16IA215_Attachment_5-Rel.pdf - Operational factors factual report (item 11, PDF, 35 pages, 755 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8442844&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=DCA16IA215%20%20OPS%20Group%20Factual%20Report%20%20Final-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 1 - flight crew interview summaries and statements (item 12, PDF, 14 pages, 196 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8438381&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%201%20-%20Flight%20Crew%20Interview%20Summaries%20and%20Statements_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 2 - dispatch interview summaries and statements (item 13, PDF, 12 pages, 462 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8439072&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%202%20-%20Dispatch%20Interview%20Summaries%20and%20Statements_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 3 - cabin crew statements (item 14, PDF, 8 pages, 115 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8438765&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%203%20-%20Cabin%20Crew%20Statements_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 4 - flight crew training summaries (item 15, PDF, 10 pages, 154 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8439752&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%204%20-%20Flight%20Crew%20Training%20Summaries_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 5 - flightcrew flight times (item 16, PDF, 2 pages, 110 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8438636&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%205%20-%20Flightcrew%20Flighttimes_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors attachment 6 - dispatch training records (item 17, PDF, 12 pages, 183 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11489705&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%206%20-%20Dispatch%20Training%20Records%20(Excerpt)_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 7 - jetblue aerodata report (item 18, PDF, 2 pages, 88 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8441496&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%207%20-%20JetBlue%20Aerodata%20Report_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 8 - operational flight plan (item 19, PDF, 21 pages, 561 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8438399&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%208%20-%20Operational%20Flight%20Plan_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 9 - acars traffic log (item 20, PDF, 77 pages, 284 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8442116&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%209%20-%20ACARS%20Traffic%20Log_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 10 - radar training tool (excerpt) (item 21, PDF, 68 pages, 1.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8438842&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2010%20-%20Radar%20Training%20Tool%20(Excerpt)-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 11 - hazardous weather avoidance criteria (item 22, PDF, 4 pages, 96 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8438275&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2011%20-%20Hazardous%20Weather%20Avoidance%20Criteria-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 12 - flightcrew pairing (item 23, PDF, 2 pages, 433 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8442393&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2012%20-%20Flightcrew%20Pairing_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 13 - dispatch resource handbook - dispatch flight following program (item 24, PDF, 26 pages, 885 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8441383&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2013%20-%20Dispatch%20Resource%20Handbook%20-%20Dispatch%20Flight%20Following%20Program_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Operational factors - attachment 14 - operational factors group party form (item 25, PDF, 16 pages, 4.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8438293&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2014%20-%20Operational%20Factors%20Group%20-%20Party%20Forms_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Cockpit voice recorder - group chairman's factual report (item 26, PDF, 68 pages, 762 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11389640&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=dca16IA215_CVR_v3_final_withOUT_expletives-Rel.pdf - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 27, PDF, 11 pages, 1.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11498796&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=DCA16IA215%20-%206120%20Form-redacted-Rel.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.