- Date
- September 19, 1994, 18:39 local (22:39 UTC)
- Place
- Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean)
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 131 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N433USBoeing 737-400
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 26, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940919034139A
- Case key
- 37605
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 inflight encounter with turbulence in clouds.
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
While descending in clouds the airliner encountered turbulence. No echoes were observed on the airborne weather avoidance radar. One flight attendant received serious back injuries. A review of the weather after the accident revealed the airplane was operating in an area of developing convective cells that may not have appeared on radar.
Factual narrative
On September 19, 1994, about 1839 eastern daylight time, N433US, a Boeing 737-400 experienced turbulence during descent over the Atlantic Ocean. The airplane was owned and operated by U.S. Air,Inc. and was operating as flight No. 811, scheduled, domestic, passenger service from Charlotte, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach, Florida. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and an IFR flight plan was filed. The airplane was not damaged and the captain, first officer, 3 flight attendants, and 126 passengers were not injured. One flight attendant received serious injuries. The flight originated from Charlotte, North Carolina, about 1654 the same day.
One flight attendant was standing in the rear galley when the airplane experienced one jolt of turbulence. She was evacuated from the airplane upon arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, and examination revealed she had a fractured lower back vertebrae.
The crew stated they were established in descent with the weather avoidance radar on and the airplane encountered one jolt of turbulence. They stated that no echoes were observed on the radar. A factual weather report of the environmental conditions was conducted by the NTSB meteorology division and the airplane was placed in an area of developing convection cells that would not necessarily show up on airborne weather radar. Details of the weather and the report are attached to this report.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N433US
- Reported as
- Boeing 737-400
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24842
- Engine
- Cfm CFM 56-3B2, 22,000 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Usair
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- CLT · Charlotte, NC
- Destination
- PBI · West Palm Beach, 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
- 49
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,225 total · 2,158 in this make and model · 152 in the last 90 days · 65 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 13 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,900 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PBI, 25 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.