- Date
- March 16, 1987, 18:00 local (Mar 17, 1987, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Midland, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 58 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N314SWBoeing 737-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 9, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 22342
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
In flight encounter with weather
Misc eqpt/furnishings,seat belt - unlockedCause
Equipment,other - delayedCause
Analysis
While penetrating a line of thunderstorms at 35,000 en route to Midland, TX, from dallas, TX, severe turbulence was encountered. One flight attendant had just sat down but had not fastened his seat belt and was thrown to the floor sustaining serious injuries.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N314SW
- Reported as
- Boeing 737-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 23336
- Airframe hours
- 2,866
- Engine
- GE CFM-56-3-B1, 20,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Southwest Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 12, 1987
- Departed
- DAL · Dallas, TX
- Destination
- MAF · Midland, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
N314SWRegistration cancelled May 18, 2012 · Boeing 737-3H4Airframe modelBoeing 737-3H4Engine modelCFM International CFM56 series
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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11,965 total · 8,040 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MAF, 200 nm away