Richmond International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Richmond, Virginia 23250
Thursday, August 30, 2001 15:55 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was on autopilot in instrument meteorological conditions, descending through 17,000 feet at 280 knots. It was being operated in an area of convective activity, with cells about 20 nautical miles on either side of the flight path. There were no radar echoes in the path of flight. The captain notified the flight attendant that the "ride may be bumpy," and had her sit down. The seat belt sign was illuminated, and a general announcement about potential turbulence was made. Approximately 10 minutes after the announcement, severe turbulence was encountered. The flight attendant, who had gotten up after thinking the area of turbulence had passed, was then seriously injured. There was no specific guidance in the company's flight operations manual about seating cabin crewmembers in anticipation of turbulence. As a result of the investigation, and after coordination with the senior manager of flight safety for the airline, guidance was published that included a requirement that cabin crewmembers remain seated until advised by the captain.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Inadequate company procedures/directives, which resulted in the flight attendant leaving her seat prematurely, while the airplane was still in an area of turbulence.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/30/2001
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1555
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Richmond
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23250
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373000N
Event Location Longitude 0771900W
Event Location Airport RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RIC
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 24
Degrees magnetic from airport 283
Airport Elevation 167
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1554 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 283
Weather Observation Facility ID RIC
Elevation of weather observation facility 167
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 24
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3400
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 30
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) 1917
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 28
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13376
NTSB Notification Source FAA EROC
NTSB Notification Date Aug 30 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1815
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2003 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Richmond, VA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N25504
NTSB Number IAD01LA102
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Embraer
Aircraft Model ERJ-135ER
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 145-186
Certified Max Gross Weight 41888
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 29
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 362
Airframe Hours 4225
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name CONTINENTAL EXPRESS INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1600 Smith Street
Aircraft Owner City Houston
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77002
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
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 C2XA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CLE
Departure City Cleveland
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code RIC
Destination City Richmond
Destination State VA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - circling (IFR)
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 5 2003 8:54AM
User who most recently changed record COXP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --