- Date
- May 24, 1988, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Orlando, FL
- Injuries
- 6 minor, 55 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1544British BAC-111-203
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 5, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19880524022039A
- Case key
- 32064
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
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.
Analysis
The flt was descending thru 13000 ft when turbulence was encountered. Four passengers and two flight attendents were injured. The passengers were injured when their seatbelts' end fittings detached from their seats' tie-down shackles and the passengers struck cabin furnishings. Tests determined that when a shackle's attachment bolt was overtightened (and the shackle was not free to self-center) a seatbelt load would bend the keeper on the belt's end fitting and the fitting would open and detach from the shackle.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1544
- Reported as
- British BAC-111-203 (BAC-111-20)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 018
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce 506-14D, 10,410 horsepower, turbo jet
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Braniff, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Finalco, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · May 24, 1988 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- IND · Indianapolis, IN
- Destination
- MCO · Orlando, FL
- 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
- 45
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 16,000 total · 5,000 in this make and model · 230 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MCO, 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.
Other investigations on N1544 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.