Airbus A321-231 N926UW

Summary

On 25 June 2021 at about 20:31 local time, a Airbus A321-231 registered N926UW, operated by American Airlines, was involved in an accident near New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. 194 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 8 had minor injuries. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 June 2021 at 20:31

Classification

Accident

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

27.5987, -89.9483

Aircraft

Airbus A321-231

Registration

N926UW

Category

Airplane

Year built

2015

Engines

2

Operator

American Airlines

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dallas → Tampa

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DCA21LA164

1 person was seriously injured.

An inadvertent encounter with severe turbulence during cruise flight that caused a flight attendant to fall and fracture his ankle.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

American Airlines flight 2401 encountered severe turbulence while in cruise flight at FL310 and a flight attendant fractured his ankle. The captain was the pilot flying (PF) and the first officer was monitoring. Ride conditions were smooth with no reports of turbulence in the area and the crewmembers had the weather radar turned off. The flight was in day visual meteorological conditions (VMC) with the visibility greater than 20 miles. About 20 miles NW of the REDFN waypoint, near airway Q105, the flight experienced a single “jolt” of severe turbulence, which caused the autopilot to disconnect, and the airplane to roll about 30 degrees to the right and climb about 300 feet. The PF took control and returned the airplane to its assigned altitude and reengaged the autopilot. When the turbulence occurred beverage service had recently concluded, and two flight attendants were in the aisle collecting trash. One flight attendant was in the aft galley securing service items and was thrown to the ceiling and fell, fracturing his left ankle. Ten passengers who were not seated or who were not using their seatbelts sustained minor injuries. The fasten seatbelt indication to passengers was turned off.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.