- Date
- February 12, 1994
- Place
- Pacific Ocean (Pacific Ocean)
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 408 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N186UABoeing 747-400
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940212014219A
- Case key
- 28679
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 failure of the chief steward to verify that all flight attendants had been informed, and were complying with the captain's instructions to remain seated with their seatbelts fastened.
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 airliner was on an authorized off-course deviation, approaching MEGOG intersection, to circumvent some convective activity which had been identified on radar. As a precaution, the 'fasten seatbelt' light was illuminated and the captain told the chief purser to advise the other flight attendants of possible turbulence and to be seated. Approximately ten minutes later at MEGOG intersection, the aircraft encountered three to five seconds of what the captain described as moderate-to-severe turbulence. The weather radar was on at the time of the of the actual encounter; however, there were no weather returns showing on the scope. During the turbulence, one flight attendant who did not get the prewarning was answering a passenger call, and was not seated. Passenger reports indicate that, at the onset, the flight attendant left the floor of the aircraft and came back down hard on her shoulder and side. It was later determined that the flight attendant suffered a hairline fracture of the right clavicle.
Factual narrative
On February 12, 1994, about 1345 coordinated universal time, a Boeing 747-400, N186UA, encountered clear air turbulence at flight level FL350 while in cruise over the Pacific Ocean at a position W 157.00 by S 010.03.4. During the encounter, one of the flight attendants fell, sustaining a fractured right clavicle. The aircraft was operated by United Airlines, Inc., as flight 841, a scheduled international passenger flight from Los Angeles, California, to Auckland, New Zealand, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The aircraft was not damaged. One flight attendant sustained serious injuries; however, the remaining 408 passengers and crewmembers were not injured. The flight originated at Los Angeles, California, on the day of the mishap at 0626 Pacific standard time as a nonstop flight to New Zealand.
According to United Airlines, the aircraft was on an authorized off-course deviation, approaching MEGOG intersection, to circumvent some convective activity which had been identified on radar. As a precaution, the "fasten seatbelt" light was illuminated and the captain told the chief purser to advise the other flight attendants of possible turbulence and to be seated. Approximately ten minutes later at MEGOG intersection, the aircraft encountered three to five seconds of what the captain described as moderate-to-severe turbulence. The weather radar was on at the time of the actual encounter; however, there were no weather returns showing on the scope. During the turbulence, one flight attendant who did not get the prewarning was answering a passenger call, and was not seated. Passenger reports indicate that, at the onset the flight, attendant left the floor of the aircraft and came back down hard on her shoulder and side. It was later determined that the flight attendant suffered a hairline fracture of the right clavicle.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N186UA
- Reported as
- Boeing 747-400
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 26875
- Airframe hours
- 5,917
- Engine
- P&W PW4056, 56,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- United Airlines
- Registered owner
- United Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · November 17, 1993 · 1,265 hours before
- Departed
- LAX · Los Angeles, CA
- Destination
- PAKL · Auckland
- 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
- 54
- Certificates
- Commercial, Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 15,397 total · 1,110 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.