- Date
- May 13, 2006, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Winchester, VA
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 45 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N653AEEmbraer 145LR
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 26, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20060513029749A
- Case key
- 64159
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 passenger's failure to heed the flight attendant warning and the seat belt sign. A factor was the turbulence.
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 airplane was approaching its destination, at 10,000 feet, and the seat belt sign had been illuminated for 10-15 minutes, when the crew noticed that clouds ahead "appeared bumpy." The flight attendant was notified, and she advised the passengers of possible turbulence via the public address system. A passenger subsequently got out of her seat to use the lavatory, and upon leaving the lavatory, while the airplane was in a cloud and experiencing turbulence, she fell and broke her ankle.
Factual narrative
On May 13, 2006, about 1600 eastern daylight time, a passenger was seriously injured when an Embrear 145LR, N653AE, operating as American Eagle flight 3967, encountered turbulence near Winchester, Virginia. Three crewmembers and 42 passengers were not injured, and there was no damage to the airplane. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan between Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois, and Washington Dulles International Airport, Dulles, Virginia. The scheduled passenger flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 121.
According to the captain, the airplane was operating at 10,000 feet, near TRIXY intersection, and the seat belt sign had been illuminated for 10-15 minutes, when the crew noticed that clouds ahead "appeared bumpy." The flight attendant was notified, and she advised the passengers of possible turbulence via the public address system. A passenger subsequently got out of her seat to use the lavatory, and upon leaving the lavatory, while the airplane was in a cloud for about 20 seconds and experiencing turbulence, she fell and broke her ankle.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N653AE
- Reported as
- Embraer 145LR
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 145433
- Engines
- Rolls-Royce AE 3007A1, 8,338 lbs thrust, turbo fanRolls-Royce AE 3007A1, 8,338 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- American Eagle Airlines, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- ORD · Chicago, IL
- Destination
- IAD · Dulles, VA
- 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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- January 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 16,491 total · 4,156 in this make and model · 6,519 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 9 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- OKV, 1 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.