# NTSB DCA19CA081: Embraer ERJ170, N613CZ, Reno, NV, February 13, 2019

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 4 · Data collection · Final report
- Date: February 13, 2019, 14:55 local (22:55 UTC)
- Place: Reno, NV
- Coordinates: 39.473502, -119.81758
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.4735&lon=-119.8176&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: Serious injuries
- Injuries: 1 serious, 4 minor, 59 uninjured
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office: Major Investigations Division
- NTSB case key (mKey): 98982
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DCA19CA081
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/98982/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98982
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA19CA081

## Probable cause

an inadvertent encounter with convective turbulence that resulted in a TCAS RA, which required an abrupt control input by the flight crew to resolve the conflict.

## 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: [Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De ERJ 170-200 LR, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03032020/cases.md?model=3260121), [All aircraft, 145 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03032020/cases.md)
- [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Flight crew (probable cause); cases with it: [Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De ERJ 170-200 LR, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=3260121), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/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: [Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De ERJ 170-200 LR, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360/sequence.md?model=3260121), [All aircraft, 423 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360/sequence.md)

## Analysis

On February 13, 2019 about 1232 PST, Compass Airlines flight 5763, an Embraer ERJ 175, N613CZ, encountered turbulence while in cruise flight at flight level (FL) 340 and subsequently diverted to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (KRNO), Reno, Nevada. Of the 75 passengers and crew onboard, one flight attendant sustained serious injuries while two flight attendants and two passengers received minor injuries. The airplane sustained minor damage. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight from the John Wayne-Orange County Airport (KSNA), Santa Ana, California to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA), Seattle, Washington. According to the flight crew, about 40 minutes into the flight when the airplane was in smooth air and “between cloud layers”, the captain informed the flight attendants that they could begin cabin service but left the seatbelt sign illuminated for passengers because there was a report of ”occasional light chop”. About 20 minutes later, the flight encountered an area of severe turbulence that lasted about 8 seconds and caused the airplane to rapidly gain altitude and the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) to issue a resolution advisory (RA) for opposite-direction traffic 1,000 ft above them. The first officer (FO) , who was the flying pilot, disengaged the autopilot and applied forward control pressure to comply with the RA. The FO could not obtain the target flight path vector directed by the TCAS, so the captain assisted on the controls to obtain the desired pitch attitude. After the airplane descended back to its assigned altitude, the TCAS RA cleared, and the captain informed air traffic control of the turbulence and TCAS RA. According to the flight attendants (FA), the turbulence was encountered as they were beginning the beverage service. Two of the FAs impacted the ceiling before falling to the floor and one passenger, who had been in the lavatory at the time of the encounter had a small head laceration. As a result of the injuries, the captain declared an emergency and the flight diverted to KRNO. The FA in the aft galley was assisted by a medically qualified passenger and remained on the floor until landing due to her injuries. She was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken arm. Post accident examination of the weather satellite data depicted cloud patterns aloft consistent with the presence of a convective updraft coincident with the flight’s location at the time of the turbulence encounter. The convection appeared to be “embedded” with stratiform clouds and may not have been visually identifiable by the flight crew.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N613CZ](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N613CZ), registered now, S/N 17000203, built 2008 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: Embraer ERJ170 (200LR)
- Registry model: [Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De ERJ 170-200 LR](https://openairdocs.org/model/embraer-empresa-brasileira-de-erj-170-200-lr) (registry code 3260121) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [GE CF34-8E5](https://openairdocs.org/engine/ge-cf34-8e5) (registry code 30061, turbo-fan) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 17000203
- Year built: 2008
- Airframe hours: 30469.12
- Engines: General Electric CF34-8E5 14510 lbs thrust turbo fan; General Electric CF34-8E5 14510 lbs thrust turbo fan
- Damage: Minor damage
- Flight: Part 121
- Operator: Compass Airlines, doing business as Delta Connection
- Registered owner: Delta Air Lines Inc
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Transport
- Departed: SNA, Santa Ana, CA
- Destination: RNO, Reno, NV
- Flight plan: IFR
- Equipment: Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Auto-pilot, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 32; injuries: none; commercial, airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review January 27, 2019; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 4,270 total, 2,727 in this make and model, 1,962 as pilot in command, 116 in the last 90 days, 39 in the last 30 days
- Co-pilot; age 30; injuries: none; airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review October 28, 2018; seat: right; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 2,233 total, 674 in this make and model, 566 as pilot in command, 195 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days

## Weather

- Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Day
- Turbulence: Severe

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20190213015829A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190213015829A), Feb 13, 2019: Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De ERJ 170-200 LR, Reno, NV, Minor damage. CPZ5763 was enroute from ksna to ksea at FL340. CPZ6058 (company traffic) was enroute from ksea to klax at FL350. Traffic was called for each aircraft more…

## Docket (22 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 13, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=98982. 48.2 MB in all.

- Meteorology factual report (item 1, PDF, 25 pages, 4.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8502418&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA19CA081_Factual-Rel.pdf
- Attachment 1 to the meteorology factual report (item 2, PDF, 3 pages, 21 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8503399&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA19CA081_Attachment_1-Rel.pdf
- Attachment 2 to the meteorology factual report (item 3, PDF, 3 pages, 22 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8503030&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA19CA081_Attachment_2-Rel.pdf
- Attachment 3 to the meteorology factual report (item 4, PDF, 25 pages, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8503145&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=WX_DCA19CA081_Attachment_3_redacted-Rel.pdf
- Zoa cwsu preduty weather briefing video 12FEB2019 2030PST (item 5, MP4, 16.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8502435&FileExtension=mp4&FileName=ZOA_CWSU_PreDuty_Weather_Briefing_video_12Feb2019_2030PST-Rel.mp4
- Zoa cwsu preduty weather briefing video 13FEB2019 0545PST (item 6, MP4, 11.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=8503638&FileExtension=mp4&FileName=ZOA_CWSU_PreDuty_Weather_Briefing_video_13Feb2019_0545PST-Rel.mp4
- Operational factors group chairman factual report (item 7, PDF, 40 pages, 826 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9251051&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=DCA19CA081%20-%20OPS%20Group%20Factual%20Report-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 1 - flight crew interview summaries and statements (item 8, PDF, 25 pages, 368 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9251242&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%201%20-%20Flight%20Crew%20Interview%20Summaries%20and%20Statements_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 2 - flight 6058 flight crew interview summaries (item 9, PDF, 9 pages, 137 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131671&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%202%20-%20Flight%206058%20Flight%20Crew%20Interview%20Summaries-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 3 - flight attendant written statements (item 10, PDF, 6 pages, 237 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131950&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%203%20-%20Flight%20Attendant%20Written%20Statements_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 4 - compass airline dispatch personnel interview summaries (item 11, PDF, 27 pages, 266 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131959&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%204%20-%20Compass%20Airline%20Personnel%20Interview%20Summaries-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 5 - accident flight crew training records [excerpt] (item 12, PDF, 81 pages, 977 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131687&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%205%20-%20Accident%20Flight%20Crew%20Training%20Records%20%5BExcerpt%5D_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 6 - accident flight crew schedules [excerpt] (item 13, PDF, 3 pages, 185 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9130873&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%206%20-%20Accident%20Flight%20Crew%20Schedule%20%5BExcerpt%5D_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 7 - accident flight dispatch release (item 14, PDF, 64 pages, 1.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131696&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%207%20-%20Accident%20Flight%20Dispatch%20Release_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 8 - weight and balance (item 15, PDF, 6 pages, 191 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9145898&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%208%20-%20Weight%20and%20Balance-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 9 - aircraft operations manual vol. 1 and 2 [excerpt] (item 16, PDF, 30 pages, 4.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131894&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%209%20-%20Aircraft%20Operations%20Manuals%20Vol%201%20and%202-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 10 - flight operations manual [excerpt] (item 17, PDF, 21 pages, 462 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131201&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2010%20-%20Flight%20Operations%20Manual%20%5BExcerpt%5D-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 11 - system operations control manual [excerpt] (item 18, PDF, 4 pages, 313 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131810&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2011%20-%20System%20Operations%20Control%20Manual-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 12 - aircraft maintenance logbook entry [excerpt] (item 19, PDF, 2 pages, 195 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131492&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2012%20-%20Aircraft%20Maintence%20Logbook%20Write%20up_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 13 - operational factors group party forms (item 20, PDF, 3 pages, 301 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9131903&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Attachment%2013%20-%20Operational%20Factors%20Group%20Party%20Forms_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Operational factors - attachment 14 - archeived pireps (item 21, CSV, 78 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9132674&FileExtension=csv&FileName=Archeived%20PIREP-Rel.csv
- Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 22, PDF, 11 pages, 5.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=9984921&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=2.13.18%20CPZ5763%206120.1%20Completed_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.

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