- Date
- August 26, 2019, 20:37 local (Aug 27, 2019, 00:37 UTC)
- Place
- Chicago, IL
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 151 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N911DLMcdonnell Douglas MD88
- Defining event
- Approach: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report April 22, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 100175
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 encounter with convective turbulence during descent.
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 August 26, 2019, about 2037 central daylight time, Delta Airlines as flight 805, a Boeing MD-88, N911DL, encountered turbulence during descent to the Chicago O'Hare International Airport (KORD), Chicago, Illinois. Of the 152 passengers and crew onboard, one flight attendant was seriously injured and there was no damage to the airplane. The flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight from the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (KATL), Atlanta, Georgia. According to the flight crew, during initial descent, they heard reports of moderate turbulence from preceding airplanes on arrival. The captain contacted the cabin crew and informed them of the upcoming moderate turbulence and instructed them to be seated. Shortly after, while deviating around an area of weather, the airplane encountered approximately 10 to 15 seconds of moderate turbulence. According to cabin crew statements, they had finished service and had stowed everything they needed to in the galley. The captain notified them that turbulence "was coming in three to five minutes." The aft flight attendant was returning to his jumpseat when the turbulence was encountered and was unable to maintain his balance and fell to the floor. After the turbulence had subsided the injured flight attendant was able to make it back to his jumpseat and immobilize his ankle. The flight attendants informed the flight crew of the injury and medical personnel met the airplane at the gate. A subsequent x-ray indicated the flight attendant sustained a fractured distal fibula.
Factual narrative
On August 26, 2019, about 2037 central daylight time, Delta Airlines as flight 805, a Boeing MD-88, N911DL, encountered turbulence during descent to the Chicago O'Hare International Airport (KORD), Chicago, Illinois. Of the 152 passengers and crew onboard, one flight attendant was seriously injured and there was no damage to the airplane. The flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight from the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (KATL), Atlanta, Georgia. According to the flight crew, during initial descent, they heard reports of moderate turbulence from preceding airplanes on arrival. The captain contacted the cabin crew and informed them of the upcoming moderate turbulence and instructed them to be seated. Shortly after, while deviating around an area of weather, the airplane encountered approximately 10 to 15 seconds of moderate turbulence. According to cabin crew statements, they had finished service and had stowed everything they needed to in the galley. The captain notified them that turbulence "was coming in three to five minutes." The aft flight attendant was returning to his jumpseat when the turbulence was encountered and was unable to maintain his balance and fell to the floor. After the turbulence had subsided the injured flight attendant was able to make it back to his jumpseat and immobilize his ankle. The flight attendants informed the flight crew of the injury and medical personnel met the airplane at the gate. A subsequent x-ray indicated the flight attendant sustained a fractured distal fibula.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N911DL
- Reported as
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD88 (88)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 49542
- Built
- 1978
- Airframe hours
- 80,632
- Engines
- Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219, turbo jetPratt & Whitney JT8D-219, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Air Lines, Inc
- Registered owner
- Delta Air Lines, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- September 27, 2019
- Departed
- KATL · Atlanta, GA
- Destination
- KORD · Chicago, IL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KORD · Chicago O'Hare International
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Angle of attack indicator, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, 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
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- August 8, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,748 total · 1,949 in this make and model · 160 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- January 26, 2019
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 819 total · 819 in this make and model · 187 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 210° at 12 knots
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.69 inHg
- Observed at
- KORD, 54 nm away
Docket · 14
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 4, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 12.8 MB in all.
Other investigations on N911DL · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.