Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chamblee, Georgia 30341
Wednesday, March 26, 1997 13:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

As the airplane was cruising at 31,000 feet, light turbulence was encountered. The flight was cleared to descend in preparation for landing at the destination airport. Passing through 30,000 feet, the airplane encountered moderate turbulence. As the airplane descended through 27,000 feet, there was a sudden drop of about 10 to 15 feet, which resulted in the flight attendant falling to the floor in the aft lavatory. Her fall resulted in a broken ankle.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

an encounter with clear air turbulence, which led to injury of the flight attendant. A factor associated with the accident was: that the flight attendant was not being restrained by a seat belt.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/26/1997
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1345
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City CHAMBLEE
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 30341
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 99
Degrees magnetic from airport 360
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 360
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Mar 26 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1400
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:09PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N332MC
NTSB Number ATL97LA055
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Dassault
Aircraft Model FALCON 900B
Aircraft Series Identifier FALCON 900
Aircraft Serial Number 078
Certified Max Gross Weight 46700
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 15
Number of Engines 3
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 103
Airframe Hours 6390
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MCI TRANSCON
Aircraft Owner Street Address POB 17440 DULLES INTL AIRPORT
Aircraft Owner City WASHINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DC
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 20041
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name MCI SYSTEMHOUSE CORP.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code IAD
Departure City WASHINGTON
Departure State DC
Departure Country
Departure Time 1155
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PDK
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --