- Date
- August 7, 2024, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Severn, MD · Descent into BWI
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 142 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N226WNBoeing 737
- Defining event
- Enroute-descent: 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
- Parties
- Southwest Airlines, FAA
- Case key
- 194882
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
A passenger’s failure to comply with crew member instructions to remain seated with seatbelt fastened.
Findings · 2
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
Southwest Airlines Flight 3633 (SWA 3633) encountered turbulence while descending through flight level (FL) 190 to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Baltimore, Maryland. The flight was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT), Manchester, New Hampshire to BWI. The flight crew illuminated the seat belt sign during descent into BWI. A few minutes following the illumination, a passenger stood up and walked to the back of the cabin. The flight attendant told the passenger to return to her seat, and the passenger responded that she would not return to her seat because she needed to stretch. About a minute later, as the aircraft descended through a cloud, the flight encountered short duration moderate turbulence. The standing passenger lost her balance and fell to the floor, breaking her ankle. Two nurses came to assist the passenger on the floor of the galley where they bandaged and splinted her ankle. The nurses returned to their seats for landing. An off-duty flight attendant sat on the floor of the galley with the injured passenger to secure her during landing. EMTs met the flight at the gate and transported the injured passenger from the airplane to a local hospital. The flight crew reported that the there were no reports of turbulence or radar returns that would have indicated turbulence. A post flight review of weather showed no predicted turbulence or evidence of convection near the location and altitude where the encounter occurred.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N226WN
- Reported as
- Boeing 737 (7H4)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32494
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 62,278
- Engines
- CFM Intl. CFM56-7B24, 24,000 lbs thrust, turbo fanCFM Intl. CFM56-7B24, 24,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Registered owner
- Southwest Airlines Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · July 23, 2024
- Departed
- MHT · Manchester, NH
- Destination
- BWI · Baltimore, MD
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, Data recorder, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, Heads up display, Onboard weather, Stall warning system
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 · 6
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 23, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 30,000 total · 13,000 in this make and model · 25,000 as pilot in command · 245 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 23, 2024
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 5,000 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 180 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Injuries
- None
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Role
- Cabin crew
- Restraint
- Lap only
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 30° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- BWI
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 28, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.5 MB in all.
Other investigations on N226WN · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.