Boeing 737-724 N16709

Summary

On 13 June 2012 at about 01:17 local time, a Boeing 737-724 registered N16709, operated by United Air Lines Inc, was involved in an accident near Winnie, Texas, United States. 81 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 June 2012 at 01:17

Classification

Accident

Location

Winnie, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.7869, -94.4675

Aircraft

Boeing 737-724

Registration

N16709

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

United Air Lines Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → La Guardia

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

IMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

DCA12LA091

2 people were seriously injured.

the flight crew's penetration of a rapidly developing thunderstorm cell in an area of forecasted convective activity. The serious injuries were the result of a misunderstanding between the captain and cabin crew regarding the potential for turbulence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight encountered an area of severe turbulence during the climb at about  flight level 221 on departure that seriously injured two flight attendants (FA). The flight crew was aware of the forecasted convective conditions and potential for turbulence forecast along their route of flight. The captain and FAs differed in their recollection about the turbulence discussion during the pre-flight briefing. The FAs were not aware of the turbulence potential during the flight and began their service before the captain instructed them as he intended. The weather radar tilt setting of +1 degree used by the flight crew would be useful for detecting the tops of medium range and distant storms but would not be useful in detecting the rapidly developing nearby cells below and in front of the airplane. A negative tilt setting on the weather radar was recommended by the company to detect cells building in front of the airplane. As a result, the flight penetrated a rapidly developing area of "extreme" convective activity that produced severe convectively induced turbulence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.