- Date
- June 25, 2021, 20:31, time zone not recorded
- Place
- New Orleans, LA
- NTSB coordinates
- 27.5987, -89.9483, outside the stated state
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 8 minor, 185 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N926UWAirbus A321-231
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · 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
- 103350
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 severe turbulence during cruise flight that caused a flight attendant to fall and fracture his ankle.
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
American Airlines flight 2401 encountered severe turbulence while in cruise flight at FL310 and a flight attendant fractured his ankle. The captain was the pilot flying (PF) and the first officer was monitoring. Ride conditions were smooth with no reports of turbulence in the area and the crewmembers had the weather radar turned off. The flight was in day visual meteorological conditions (VMC) with the visibility greater than 20 miles. About 20 miles NW of the REDFN waypoint, near airway Q105, the flight experienced a single “jolt” of severe turbulence, which caused the autopilot to disconnect, and the airplane to roll about 30 degrees to the right and climb about 300 feet. The PF took control and returned the airplane to its assigned altitude and reengaged the autopilot. When the turbulence occurred beverage service had recently concluded, and two flight attendants were in the aisle collecting trash. One flight attendant was in the aft galley securing service items and was thrown to the ceiling and fell, fracturing his left ankle. Ten passengers who were not seated or who were not using their seatbelts sustained minor injuries. The fasten seatbelt indication to passengers was turned off.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N926UW
- Reported as
- Airbus A321-231
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 6618
- Built
- 2015
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- American Airlines
- Registered owner
- American Airlines Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- DFW · Dallas, TX
- Destination
- TPA · Tampa, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MSY
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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 17, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 9,814 total · 623 in this make and model · 1,267 as pilot in command · 168 in the last 90 days · 55 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 41
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 22, 2021
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 2,117 total · 443 in this make and model · 154 in the last 90 days · 63 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KHUM, 5 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 20, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.3 MB in all.