- Date
- February 25, 1997, 13:09 local (21:09 UTC)
- Place
- San Francisco, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 109 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N661UABoeing 767-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 30, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970225019939A
- Case key
- 29732
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 encounter with unforecasted moderate clear air turbulence, while descending over mountainous terrain.
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 flight attendant sustained a serious injury after the aircraft experienced a single, severe jolt of unforecasted moderate clear air turbulence during the descent over mountainous terrain. The seat belt sign was not illuminated at the time.
Factual narrative
On February 25, 1997, at 1309 hours Pacific standard time, a flight attendant received a serious injury during an encounter with clear air turbulence over the Sierra mountains while the aircraft was in a descent to San Francisco, California. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time. The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300, N661UA, was operated by United Airlines as flight 961 from Paris, France, with a total of 110 people onboard. None of the other people onboard were injured.
According to United Airlines, the aircraft was descending through flight level 330 when the aircraft experienced a single, severe jolt of unforecasted moderate clear air turbulence. The aft flight attendant, working in the rear galley, fractured her right ankle that later required surgery. The fasten seat belt sign was not illuminated at the time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N661UA
- Reported as
- Boeing 767-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27158
- Airframe hours
- 16,622
- Engine
- P&W PW4060, 38,200 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- United Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 23, 1997 · 480 hours before
- Departed
- CDG · Paris
- Destination
- SFO
- 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
- 49
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 11,644 total · 793 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- 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.