Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Flat Rock, Virginia 23139
Saturday, July 17, 2004 18:42 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While the airplane was in level flight at 17,000 feet, it encountered turbulence for approximately 10 seconds. A flight attendant reported that another flight attendant working with him in the rear galley had suffered a broken leg. The flight continued, and landed uneventfully. The injured flight attendant stated that he had received notification from the lead flight attendant that it was going to get bumpy on the way down, and to clean up the cabin for landing. The captain stated that at least 10 minutes prior to the encounter with turbulence, he notified the lead flight attendant of the possibility of turbulence on the arrival. The lead flight attendant asked if the captain wanted her to do the "Final" and have all flight attendants take their seats, which he responded yes. The weather reported at an airport located about 22 miles east of the accident location, included 5 miles of visibility, light rain, mist, broken clouds at 2,800 feet, and an overcast cloud layer at 15,000 feet. Thunderstorm activity was also reported in the area.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An inadvertent encounter with turbulence in clouds during descent.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/17/2004
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1842
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Flat Rock
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 23139
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373200N
Event Location Longitude 0775000W
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 --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1854 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID RIC
Elevation of weather observation facility 300
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 22
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 15000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.84
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
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 110
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17349
NTSB Notification Source EROC
NTSB Notification Date Jul 17 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1920
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 24 2005 9:13AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Dulles, VA

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N812AW
NTSB Number NYC04LA168
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 Airbus Industrie
Aircraft Model A319
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1178
Certified Max Gross Weight 166400
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 --
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Jul 17 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 5
Airframe Hours 16054
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name America West Airlines
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4000 Sky Harbor Blvd.
Aircraft Owner City Phoenix
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85034
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 AWXA
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 PHX
Departure City Phoenix
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1142
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code IAD
Destination City Dulles
Destination State VA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --