Boeing 757 UNK

Summary

On 29 April 2014 at about 19:39 local time, a Boeing 757 registered UNK was involved in an incident near Powhatan, Virginia, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 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

29 April 2014 at 19:39

Classification

Incident

Location

Powhatan, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

37.5401, -77.9191

Aircraft

Boeing 757

Registration

UNK

Category

Airplane

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orlando → Philadelphia

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

OPS14IA007

4 people had minor injuries.

The air traffic controller’s failure to provide required advisories about significant radar-observed convective precipitation along both airplanes’ flight routes and the air route traffic control center’s lack of a program to ensure that air traffic controllers provide this required information to pilots, which led to both airplanes encountering severe turbulence. Contributing to the airplanes’ encounters with severe turbulence was the flight crews’ failure to detect the precipitation using on-board radar and request deviations, as necessary, to avoid the hazard.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilots of a Boeing 757 air carrier flight and a regional jet both reported to an air route traffic controller that they had encountered severe turbulence while en route on instrument flight. The controller asked the Boeing 757 pilot to confirm that the turbulence occurred between flight level 370 and 360; the pilot confirmed the information, and no further communications were made regarding the turbulence encounter. After landing, all four flight attendants and several passengers aboard the flight were transported to the hospital (later, no injuries were reported), and a postflight examination of the airplane revealed hail damage, which required the radome to be replaced. Shortly after the 757 pilot reported the severe turbulence, the pilot of the regional jet checked in the with the air route traffic controller, and the controller informed him about the reported severe turbulence and authorized a deviation. About 7 minutes later, the regional jet pilot reported that the flight had encountered severe turbulence and requested a lower altitude. The flight crew reported no damage or injuries. Review of recorded Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar weather information showed an area of moderate-to-extreme intensity precipitation along the airplanes' routes of flight. Despite the available weather information and numerous pilot requests for weather deviations (including before the 757 pilot reported the turbulence), the controller did not advise any pilots of flights under his control of the significant areas of radar-observed precipitation along their routes of flight in accordance with FAA Order 7110, "Air Traffic Control." Further, the air route traffic control center's facility support manager for quality control stated that the center had no program to ensure that displayed precipitation information was being provided to flight crews as required; the center has since made several corrective changes, including a remedial training program and performance monitoring, to ensure that weather services are provided to flight crews as required. In addition, if the flight crews had detected the precipitation using the on-board radar and then requested deviations, as necessary, they may have been able to avoid encountering the severe turbulence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.