- Date
- September 30, 2020, 19:00 UTC
- Place
- Anchorage, AK
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 251 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N860DABoeing 777
- Defining event
- Enroute: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Not reported
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 102250
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
The airplane’s encounter with severe turbulence while flying over a mountain range during cruise.
Findings · 3
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
The airplane was in cruise flight when it encountered turbulence over the Aleutian Islands, a chain of mountainous volcanic islands west of the Alaskan peninsula. A flight attendant standing in the aft main cabin galley during the encounter fell onto the galley cart restraint latch, injuring her top left rib. She was subsequently diagnosed with a fractured rib. Post-accident examination of the weather data indicated that about the time of the injury, there was evidence of a short duration turbulence event while the aircraft flew over the Aleutian Islands. The flight crew did not recall any notable turbulence during the flight, and there were no pilot reports (PIREPs) or inflight weather advisories current for the area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N860DA
- Reported as
- Boeing 777 (200-ER)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 29951
- Built
- 1999
- Airframe hours
- 92,159
- Engines
- Rolls Royce Trent 892-17, 93,400 lbs thrust, turbo fanRolls Royce Trent 892-17, 93,400 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Delta Airlines
- Registered owner
- Delta Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · September 30, 2020
- Departed
- PGUA · Yigo, Guam, PO
- Destination
- PAED · Anchorage, AK
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Equipment
- Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder
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 · 13
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Last flight review
- June 24, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 20,597 total · 8,655 in this make and model · 200 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Last flight review
- September 24, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 12,823 total · 7,341 in this make and model · 97 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 21,232 total · 8,324 in this make and model
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- Serious
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
Weather
- Conditions
- Not reported
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 19, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.1 MB in all.