- Date
- March 11, 2010, 10:20 local (15:20 UTC)
- Place
- Titusville, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor, 114 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N319NBAirbus Industrie A319-100
- Defining event
- Enroute-cruise: Turbulence encounter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 22, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Case key
- 75481
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 in-flight encounter with turbulence, resulting in an injury to a cabin attendant.
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
The air carrier flight had been experiencing light, occasionally moderate, turbulence throughout the flight. The captain had asked the flight attendants to secure the cabin earlier than usual, while they were in light turbulence, because the conditions were not expected to improve before arrival at the destination airport. The airplane was at flight level 240, when the flight attendants began the final preparation for landing. During that time, with no echoes depicted on the weather radar, the airplane experienced unexpected severe turbulence for 1 to 2 seconds. The maximum g recorded was 1.773 and the minimum g recorded was 0.391. All three flight attendants were standing at the time, preparing the cabin, when they were jolted upward and then fell to the floor. Two of the flight attendants sustained minor injuries, while one flight attendant was seriously injured. The airplane was not damaged and landed uneventfully at the destination airport.
Factual narrative
The air carrier flight had been experiencing light, occasionally moderate, turbulence throughout the flight. The captain had asked the flight attendants to secure the cabin earlier than usual, while they were in light turbulence, because the conditions were not expected to improve before arrival at the destination airport. The airplane was at flight level 240, when the flight attendants began the final preparation for landing. During that time, with no echoes depicted on the weather radar, the airplane experienced unexpected severe turbulence for 1 to 2 seconds. The maximum g recorded was 1.773 and the minimum g recorded was 0.391. All three flight attendants were standing at the time, preparing the cabin, when they were jolted upward and then fell to the floor. Two of the flight attendants sustained minor injuries, while one flight attendant was seriously injured. The airplane was not damaged and landed uneventfully at the destination airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N319NB
- Reported as
- Airbus Industrie A319-100
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1346
- Airframe hours
- 26,401
- Engines
- CFM 56-5A5, 23,500 lbs thrust, turbo fanCFM 56-5A5, 23,500 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 · March 1, 2010 · 102 hours before
- Departed
- LGA · New York, NY
- Destination
- PBI · West Palm Beach, FL
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- November 27, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 7,191 total · 1,396 in this make and model · 133 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- December 15, 2009
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 7,349 total · 5,028 in this make and model · 158 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 16 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.80 inHg
- Observed at
- TIX
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 6, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 MB in all.