- Date
- June 12, 2003, 04:47 local (09:47 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Worth, TX
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 132 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N451AABoeing MD-82
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report December 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20030612036819A
- Case key
- 57234
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 encounter with severe turbulence during descent, prior to the cabin crew taking their seats, which resulted in serious injury to two flight attendants.
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
The scheduled domestic air carrier flight encountered severe turbulence while making a descent to land, injuring two flight attendants. The pilot illuminated the seatbelt sign and made an announcement for the cabin crew to take their seats because of expected turbulence. The aft cabin attendants went to the rear of the airplane to stow an auxiliary table, and were proceeding to their seats when the turbulence began. One cabin attendant sustained a fractured right ankle, and the other sustained a fractured tibia. The aviation weather report for destination airport included thunderstorm and rain activity with frequent lightning.
Factual narrative
On June 12, 2003, at 0447 central daylight time, two cabin attendants sustained serious injuries when American Airlines Flight 2490, a Boeing MD-82, N491AA, encountered severe turbulence passing through 15,000 feet during descent into Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Texas. American Airlines, Inc., was operating the airplane as a scheduled domestic passenger flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121. The airline transport pilot licensed captain, first officer, 1 cabin attendant, and 129 passengers were not injured. The flight departed Los Angeles, California, at 0052 Pacific daylight time as a nonstop to DFW. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed.
According to American's flight safety department, the pilot had illuminated the seatbelt sign and had made an announcement for the cabin crew to take their seats because of expected turbulence. The aft cabin attendants went to the rear of the airplane to stow an auxiliary table, and were headed to their seats when the turbulence hit. One cabin attendant sustained a fractured right ankle, and the other sustained a fractured tibia.
An aviation routine weather report (METAR) was issued at 0456 local time for Dallas/Fort Worth. It reported thunderstorm and rain activity with an overcast of cumulonimbus clouds at 11,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The remarks section of the observation included frequent lightning occurring inside the clouds, between the clouds and ground, and reaching from one cloud to another.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N451AA
- Reported as
- Boeing MD-82
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 49477
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney JT8D, 20,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- American Airlines, Inc., doing business as American Airlines, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Wilmington Trust Co
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- LAX · Los Angeles, CA
- Destination
- DFW · Dallas/Ft Worth, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DFW · Dallas/Fort Worth Internationa
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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 9,871 total · 9,845 in this make and model · 2,461 as pilot in command · 180 in the last 90 days · 57 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 957 total · 957 in this make and model · 125 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 320° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 11,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- DFW, 35 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.