- Date
- October 5, 1991, 02:30 local (07:30 UTC)
- Place
- Little Rock, AR
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor, 52 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N17402Boeing 727-243
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911005045669A
- Case key
- 18393
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
The pilot's failure to specifically warn the flight attendants of the hazardous conditions warnings. A factor was the turbulence.
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.
Analysis
A Boeing 727-200 encountered forecasted severe turbulence associated with a line of thunderstorms while in cruise at flight level 350. All the passengers and flight attendants were sitting down after the captain had turned on the seat belt sign upon encountering some light chop. Cabin service was nearly completed. A flight attendant got up to stow a beverage cart in the aft galley when severe turbulence was encountered for about 60 seconds. A convective SIGMET was in effect for their route of flight and called for a line of thunderstorms 15 miles wide, with tops to flight level 450. The captain did not direct the flight attendants to secure the cabin or discontinue service.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N17402
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-243
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21265
- Airframe hours
- 35,050
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-9A, 14,500 horsepower, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Continental Airlines
- Registered owner
- Security Pacific Equip. Lease
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · October 1, 1991 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- ORD · Chicago, IL
- Destination
- IAH · Houston, TX
- 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 50
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,000 total · 6,000 in this make and model · 213 in the last 90 days · 55 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.