Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Naches, Washington 98937
Sunday, February 27, 2011 22:39 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The flight crew of the scheduled domestic air carrier passenger flight was advised by the air route traffic control center that, due to a pilot report associated with the area of their routing, they should expect light-to-moderate chop during their descent between 20,000 feet and 16,000 feet. The flight crew, therefore, advised the passengers and the flight attendants that the descent would be bumpy and then advised the flight attendants that all descent and before-landing cabin securing activities should be completed about 10 minutes earlier than normal. Before the descent, the flight crew turned on the seatbelt sign and upon reaching 25,000 feet, the flying pilot began reducing the airspeed to that prescribed for turbulence penetration. As the airplane passed through 24,000 feet (4,000 feet higher than the altitude of the turbulence noted in the pilot report), three flight attendants were just finishing their activities, and the airplane suddenly encountered moderate turbulence for about 30 seconds. Due to the sudden movement of the airplane, the one remaining standing passenger and two of the flight attendants were thrown to the floor, one of whom sustained multiple bone fractures in her right foot.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The airplane's encounter with moderate turbulence at a higher altitude than the flight crew expected, resulting in an injury to a cabin crewmember.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/27/2011
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 2239
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Naches
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98937
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 464841N
Event Location Longitude 1205707W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2253 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 290
Weather Observation Facility ID KSEA
Elevation of weather observation facility 21
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 80
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 1900
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1000
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 4
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 200
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 22
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.52
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 1
Injury Total None 188
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 30543
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operatiions Center
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 5 2012 12:56PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N684DA
NTSB Number WPR11LA149
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 BOEING
Aircraft Model 757-232
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 27104
Certified Max Gross Weight 232000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 3
Cabin Crew Seats 5
Passenger Seats 184
Total number of seats on the aircraft 192
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Feb 11 2011 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 61800
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name WILMINGTON TRUST COMPANY TRUSTEE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1100 N MARKET ST ATN: CORP TR ADM
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19890
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Delta Air Lines
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Atlanta
Operator State GA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 30320
Operator Code DAL
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 KSLC
Departure City Salt Lake City
Departure State VI
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 2154
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code KSEA
Destination City Seattle
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 5 2012 12:56PM
User who most recently changed record stam
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --