- Date
- August 19, 1989, 18:58 local (22:58 UTC)
- Place
- Vero Beach, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 13 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N489USFokker F-28 MK4000
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 5, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890819034369A
- Case key
- 32485
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
In-flight encounter with unforecast turbulence, which resulted in injury of a flight attendant, who was not wearing a safety belt.
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 capt rprtd that, while cruising in visual meteorological conditions, the acft encountered severe turbulence, which contd for about 10 seconds. The seat belt sign was illuminated, but a flt attendant, who was not seated, suffered a broken ankle. No forecast for turbulence or pireps were rprtd.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N489US
- Reported as
- Fokker F-28 MK4000 (F-28 MK400)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 11149
- Engine
- Rolls-Royce MK 555-15H, 9,900 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Usair, doing business as Usair
- Departed
- FLL · Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Destination
- JAX · Jacksonville, 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
- 37
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 6,700 total · 60 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 600 ft broken
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- VRB, 17 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.