Boeing 737-824 N12221

Summary

On 8 July 1999 at about 18:10 local time, a Boeing 737-824 registered N12221, operated by Continental Airlines, Inc, was involved in an accident near Atlantic Ocean. 161 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 71 had minor injuries. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 1999 at 18:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Atlantic Ocean

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Boeing 737-824

Registration

N12221

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Continental Airlines, Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newark → San Juan

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD99FA052

1 person was seriously injured.

the aircrew's inadvertent encounter with unforecast clear air turbulence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was in cruise flight at 29,000 feet in smooth air with the seat belt sign turned off. The crew reported two jolts, and the airplane descended 600 feet. Due to possible injuries, the crew diverted to Bermuda (BDA) and landed. Readout of the flight data recorder indicated cruise flight at 29,000 feet with no change in heading, airspeed, or altitude for several minutes approaching the accident sequence. The altitude graph showed a slight climb before the airplane descended to 28,400 feet. The graph line indicated a slow recovery to 29,000 feet with no oscillations. The elapsed time between the first altitude excursion to recovered cruise flight was approximately 75 seconds. Of the 155 passengers on board, one passenger received serious injuries and 67 received minor injuries. The flight was scheduled for Flight Level 330 to Flight Level 370. Therefore, no information concerning forecast turbulence at Flight Level 290 was available to the flight crew. The High Level Significant Weather Prognosis chart for that period revealed that no significant weather was shown in the area where the turbulence was encountered.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.