- Date
- March 28, 2021, 18:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Charlotte, NC
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 3 minor
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N650AEEmbraer EMB-145LR
- Defining event
- Approach: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Case key
- 102835
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 March 28, 2021, about 1729 eastern standard time, Piedmont Airlines flight 6142, an Embraer 145 aircraft, N650AE, encountered turbulence during approach into Charlotte Douglas International Airport (KCLT), Charlotte, North Carolina. Of the 50 passengers and crew onboard, one passenger sustained serious injuries and the first officer, flight attendant, and one passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane was not damaged. The regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Tri-cities Airport (KTRI), Blountville, TN. The flight crew stated they expected turbulence on arrival into KCLT, because they had flown in from KCLT on the flight prior to the accident flight. As a result, prior to pushback of the accident flight, the captain made a public address announcement that the fasten seatbelt sign would remain on and the passengers and flight attendants (FA) should remain seated for the entirety of the flight. As the flight was being vectored around severe convective activity on arrival into KCLT and approaching 12,000 feet, they encountered severe turbulence with downdrafts. The autopilot disconnected and the airplane descended below its assigned level off altitude. The first officer, who was the pilot flying, took manual control of the airplane and began climbing back to 12,000 feet. After exiting the turbulent conditions, the captain called the FA and was informed that one passenger had been injured. According to the FA, a passenger got up while the seatbelt sign was on and was in the lavatory when the turbulence was encountered. The passenger complained of back pain as she returned back to her seat after the event. Two medically qualified passengers assisted the injured passenger inflight. After landing, paramedics transported the injured passenger to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured vertebrae. At the time of the flight’s arrival into KCLT, a SIGMET was active for imbedded thunderstorms and turbulence.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N650AE
- Reported as
- Embraer EMB-145LR
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 145417
- Built
- 2001
- Engines
- Allison AE 3007A, 7,580 lbs thrust, turbo fanAllison AE 3007A, 7,580 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Piedmont Airlines, doing business as American Eagle
- Registered owner
- American Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- KTRI · Blountville, TN
- Destination
- Charlotte, NC
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
- Day
- Turbulence
- Severe
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 6, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 MB in all.