- Date
- September 4, 2017, 15:31 local (20:31 UTC)
- Place
- El Paso, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 142 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N938DNMcdonnell Douglas MD 90-30
- Defining event
- Approach: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 8, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 95980
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 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 September 4, 2017 at about1531 central daylight time, Delta Air Lines flight 2121, a Boeing MD-90, N938DN, encountered turbulence during final approach into El Paso International Airport (ELP), El Paso, Texas. Of the 143 passengers and crew onboard, one flight attendant sustained serious injuries. The flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), Atlanta, Georgia, to ELP. According to the operator, while on approach the flight crew completed the cabin notification and turned the seatbelt sign on. While one of the flight attendants was performing final safety checks and walking to her jumpseat, the airplane encountered turbulence, resulting in the flight attendant hitting her head on the overhead bin. The flight attendant continued to her seat for the remainder of the approach and landing. The flight crew was notified of the event during taxi and they requested paramedics meet the flight at the gate. The flight attendant was transported to the hospital where she was diagnosed with head injuries and admitted for observation.
Factual narrative
On September 4, 2017 at about1531 central daylight time, Delta Air Lines flight 2121, a Boeing MD-90, N938DN, encountered turbulence during final approach into El Paso International Airport (ELP), El Paso, Texas. Of the 143 passengers and crew onboard, one flight attendant sustained serious injuries. The flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), Atlanta, Georgia, to ELP. According to the operator, while on approach the flight crew completed the cabin notification and turned the seatbelt sign on. While one of the flight attendants was performing final safety checks and walking to her jumpseat, the airplane encountered turbulence, resulting in the flight attendant hitting her head on the overhead bin. The flight attendant continued to her seat for the remainder of the approach and landing. The flight crew was notified of the event during taxi and they requested paramedics meet the flight at the gate. The flight attendant was transported to the hospital where she was diagnosed with head injuries and admitted for observation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N938DN
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD 90-30 (30)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 53353
- Built
- 1995
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Air Lines
- Registered owner
- Delta Air Lines Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- ATL · Atlanta, GA
- Destination
- ELP · El Paso, TX
- Airport
- ELP · El Paso Intl
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Observed at
- KELP
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 21, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 104 KB in all.