Boeing 747-422 N191UA

Summary

On 17 October 1995, a Boeing 747-422 registered N191UA was involved in an accident near Pacific Ocean. 337 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 5 had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 October 1995

Classification

Accident

Location

Pacific Ocean

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Boeing 747-422

Registration

N191UA

Category

Airplane

Engines

4

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hong Kong → San Francisco

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

LAX96LA013

1 person was seriously injured.

an inadvertent encounter with unreported and unforecasted severe turbulence. A factor in the accident was the passengers' non-use of seat belts during cruise flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

Six passengers were injured during a severe turbulence encounter over the Pacific Ocean while the aircraft was in cruise at flight level FL330. The accident occurred in international waters near latitude 40 degrees north, longitude 152 degrees east. Review of the forecasts and pilot reports of the dispatch/weather package given to the flight crew prior to departure disclosed that an area of light to moderate turbulence was forecast along the aircraft's planned track from 151 to 162 degrees east longitude. Pilot reports available at the time of departure consistently reported smooth conditions in the area of the forecast turbulence. At the time of the encounter the aircraft was in clear air above a cirrus cloud deck. The crew saw no convective activity ahead either visually or on radar. In the process of preparing for a position report to air traffic control, the flight crew overheard another airline flight ahead of them reporting an encounter with moderate to severe turbulence. The captain decided to secure the cabin as a precaution. The purser was notified of the decision and the captain was in the process of reaching for the seat belt sign when the turbulence was encountered. All of the injured passengers were located aft of row 50, with the majority aft of row 58. None of the injured were secured by seat belts.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.