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| Title: | Turbulence injury, Boeing 747-400, February 12, 1994 |
| Micro summary: | This Boeing 747-400 experienced clear air turbulence in cruise, injuring a flight attendant. |
| Event Time: | 1994-02-12 at 1345 GMT |
| File Name: | 1994-02-12-US.pdf |
| Publishing Agency: | National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) |
| Publishing Country: | USA |
| Report number: | LAX94LA141 |
| Pages: | 5 |
| Site of event: | Pacific Ocean, PO |
| Departure: | Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Destination: | Auckland International Airport, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Airplane Type(s): | Boeing 747-400 |
| Flight Phase: | Cruise |
| Registration(s): | N186UA |
| Operator(s): | United Airlines |
| Type of flight: | Revenue |
| Occupants: | 409 |
| Fatalities: | 0 |
| Serious Injuries: | 1 |
| Minor/Non-Injured: | 408 |
| Other Injuries: | 0 |
| Executive Summary: | NTSB short summary: the failure of the chief steward to verify that all flight attendants had been informed, and were complying with the captain's instructions to remain seated with their seatbelts fastened. NTSB synopsis: The airliner was on an authorized off-course deviation, approaching MEGOG intersection, to circumvent some convective activity which had been identified on radar. As a precaution, the 'fasten seatbelt' light was illuminated and the captain told the chief purser to advise the other flight attendants of possible turbulence and to be seated. Approximately ten minutes later at MEGOG intersection, the aircraft encountered three to five seconds of what the captain described as moderate-to-severe turbulence. The weather radar was on at the time of the of the actual encounter; however, there were no weather returns showing on the scope. During the turbulence, one flight attendant who did not get the prewarning was answering a passenger call, and was not seated. Passenger reports indicate that, at the onset, the flight attendant left the floor of the aircraft and came back down hard on her shoulder and side. It was later determined that the flight attendant suffered a hairline fracture of the right clavicle. NTSB factual narrative text: On February 12, 1994, about 1345 coordinated universal time, a Boeing 747-400, N186UA, encountered clear air turbulence at flight level FL350 while in cruise over the Pacific Ocean at a position W 157.00 by S 010.03.4. During the encounter, one of the flight attendants fell, sustaining a fractured right clavicle. The aircraft was operated by United Airlines, Inc., as flight 841, a scheduled international passenger flight from Los Angeles, California, to Auckland, New Zealand, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The aircraft was not damaged. One flight attendant sustained serious injuries; however, the remaining 408 passengers and crewmembers were not injured. The flight originated at Los Angeles, California, on the day of the mishap at 0626 Pacific standard time as a nonstop flight to New Zealand. According to United Airlines, the aircraft was on an authorized off-course deviation, approaching MEGOG intersection, to circumvent some convective activity which had been identified on radar. As a precaution, the "fasten seatbelt" light was illuminated and the captain told the chief purser to advise the other flight attendants of possible turbulence and to be seated. Approximately ten minutes later at MEGOG intersection, the aircraft encountered three to five seconds of what the captain described as moderate-to-severe turbulence. The weather radar was on at the time of the actual encounter; however, there were no weather returns showing on the scope. During the turbulence, one flight attendant who did not get the prewarning was answering a passenger call, and was not seated. Passenger reports indicate that, at the onset the flight, attendant left the floor of the aircraft and came back down hard on her shoulder and side. It was later determined that the flight attendant suffered a hairline fracture of the right clavicle. |
| Learning Keywords: | Operations - Turbulence |
| Consequence - Flight Attendant Fatality - Injury |
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