# NTSB DCA24LA174: Boeing 757, N6703D, Hogansville, GA, April 26, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: April 26, 2024, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC) - Place: Hogansville, GA · per 6120 - Coordinates: 33.165535, -84.99382 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.1655&lon=-84.9938&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-descent: Turbulence encounter](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 198 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Major Investigations Division - Parties: FAA/AVP110 - NTSB case key (mKey): 194158 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DCA24LA174 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194158/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194158 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA24LA174 ## Probable cause An encounter with convectively induced turbulence during descent. ## 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: [Boeing 757-232, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03032020/cases.md?model=1384965), [All aircraft, 145 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03032020/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-descent: Turbulence encounter](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360) (defining event); cases with it: [Boeing 757-232, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360/sequence.md?model=1384965), [All aircraft, 423 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/360/sequence.md) ## Analysis On April 26, 2024, at 1330 eastern daylight time, Delta Air Lines flight 1044 encountered turbulence during descent into Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Atlanta, Georgia. The flight was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from John Wayne/Orange County Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California to ATL. As a result of the turbulence, one flight attendant sustained serious injuries. The airplane was not damaged, and the flight continued to ATL without further incident. The flight crew reported that the decent had initially been relatively smooth. As the airplane descended through 10,000 ft with the seatbelt sign on, the captain alerted the cabin crew with a double chime, which was the signal for them to complete their final walkthrough and prepare the cabin for arrival. Three of the four flight attendants began to get up in the aft galley to perform the final descent checks. Shortly thereafter, the airplane flew through what was described by the flight crew to be a very small cumulus cloud and encountered one jolt of moderate turbulence. During the turbulence encounter, two of the flight attendants in the aft galley stated they were thrown into the air, and one landed on her left foot, resulting in an injury that was later diagnosed as a fracture. The cabin crew notified the flight deck of the injury, secured the injured flight attendant in a jumpseat and applied ice to her foot. The captain declared a medical emergency with air traffic control and asked for medical personnel to meet the flight at the gate. The flight was given priority for landing at ATL. A post-accident review of weather records revealed that were no convective significant meteorological information (SIGMETs) or airman’s meteorological information (AIRMETs) regarding turbulence in effect at the time and location of the accident. Cloud bases for broken and overcast layers in the area were reported between 7,000 and 9,000 ft respectively, with no precipitation present. A doppler radar derived wind profile for Atlanta showed the wind at 11,000 ft was from about 270° at 15 knots. It shifted to about 190° at 10 knots at 9,000 ft. Eddy dissipation rate (EDR) is a universal measurement of turbulence rate, based on estimated vertical wind velocity, or aircraft vertical acceleration. Some airplanes can record and broadcast EDR values. EDR values were not available for the accident airplane, however records from several other airplanes arriving at ATL from the southwest near the time and location of the accident revealed that they had experienced peak EDR values of 0.2 to 0.3. These values are aircraft independent, and the relationship between the EDR value and the perception of turbulence is a function of aircraft type, and the mass, altitude, configuration and airspeed of the aircraft. The World Meteorological Organization provides the following table for EDR values for a medium-size transport category airplane under typical en-route conditions: Table 1. Eddydissipation rate values for a medium-size transport category airplane. (Source: World Meteorological Organization) Based on the flight crew statements and the EDR data from other airplanes operating in the vicinity, it is likely that the accident airplane experienced light to moderate turbulence. The flight crew’s reporting of entering a cumulus cloud when the turbulence occurred, along with visible satellite imagery for the area showing cumulus cloud formations, suggests the turbulence was most likely convectively induced. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6703D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6703D), registered now, S/N 30234, built 2000 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BOEING 757 (232) - Registry model: [Boeing 757-232](https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-757-232) (registry code 1384965) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney PW2037](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pw2037) (registry code 52117, turbo-fan) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 30234 - Year built: 2000 - Airframe hours: 69588 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney PW2037 38200 lbs thrust turbo fan; Pratt & Whitney PW2037 38200 lbs thrust turbo fan - Damage: No damage - Flight: Part 121 - Operator: Delta Air Lines Inc - Registered owner: Delta Air Lines Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Transport - Last inspection: Continuous airworthiness, April 25, 2024 - Departed: SNA, Santa Ana, CA - Destination: ATL, Alanta, GA - Flight plan: IFR - Equipment: Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Data recorder, Auto-pilot ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review August 7, 2023; seat: left; flight hours: 5,959 total, 410 in this make and model, 193 in the last 90 days, 6 in the last 24 hours - Co-pilot; age 39; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, unknown; last flight review November 20, 2023; seat: right; flight hours: 221 total, 65 in this make and model, 69 in the last 90 days, 6 in the last 24 hours - Cabin crew; injuries: none; seat: left - Cabin crew; injuries: none; seat: none - Cabin crew; injuries: serious; seat: none - Cabin crew; injuries: none; seat: none ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 150° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 8,500 ft overcast - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 30.17 inHg - Turbulence: Moderate - Observed at: KFFC, 24 nm away - METAR: METAR KFFC 261753Z AUTO 15008KT 10SM SCT070 OVC085 27/13 A3017 RMK AO2 SLP213 T02720133 10272 20133 50004= ## 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 20240426004229A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240426004229A), Apr 26, 2024: Boeing 757-232, Atlanta, GA, No damage. While the aircraft was descending through 10,000 feet above field elevation (afe), the flight crew provided the standard final descent double-chime… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 27, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194158. 6.9 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 4.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18413529&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=01-01%20NTSB%206120%20DCA24LA174_print_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Crew statements (item 2, PDF, 6 pages, 265 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18056721&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=01-02%20Flight%201044%20Crew%20Statements_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Weather records provided by operator (item 3, PDF, 11 pages, 1.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18056823&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=04-01%20Weather%20Records%20from%20DAL%20-%20DL1044%20SNA%20-%20ATL%20Weather-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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.