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A B737-800 encountered severe turbulence at FL380 where; in a downdraft; it descended to FL310 after which an emergency was declared and upon arrival at the destination paramedics met the aircraft to attend the injured.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1004356 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201204 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer Pilot Flying |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
The morning was routine with our briefings; as well as our brief discussion of the weather. For the most part; our route was south of the weather. We were flying at FL380 rides were deteriorating at all altitudes. En route; we were deviating south of some weather after it was determined we would not be on top of it. Later on; ATC gave us new routing; putting us closer to the weather. As we got closer to our destination; there was some more weather in the area. We evaluated deviation versus topping the weather. We both agreed we would easily top it and be in the clear; shortly thereafter; the pitch limit indicator (pli) and the airspeed decreasing. Then; we encountered a severe downdraft followed by the aircraft banking aggressively left to right. The stick shaker; bank angle; then later; the overspeed warnings came on. I lowered the nose as well as tried to return the aircraft to a wings level condition. I glanced at the radar to try to find somewhere smoother to go; but there was nothing anywhere on the radar. For awhile later; there was still moderate turbulence. We declared an emergency; and the captain called the flight attendants several times to check on them and the passengers. We proceeded to our destination. The approach; landing; and taxi in were uneventful. At the gate; we tried to help check on the flight attendants and passengers.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B737-800 encountered severe turbulence at FL380 where; in a downdraft; it descended to FL310 after which an emergency was declared and upon arrival at the destination paramedics met the aircraft to attend the injured.
Narrative: The morning was routine with our briefings; as well as our brief discussion of the weather. For the most part; our route was south of the weather. We were flying at FL380 rides were deteriorating at all altitudes. En route; we were deviating south of some weather after it was determined we would not be on top of it. Later on; ATC gave us new routing; putting us closer to the weather. As we got closer to our destination; there was some more weather in the area. We evaluated deviation versus topping the weather. We both agreed we would easily top it and be in the clear; shortly thereafter; the Pitch Limit Indicator (PLI) and the airspeed decreasing. Then; we encountered a severe downdraft followed by the aircraft banking aggressively left to right. The stick shaker; bank angle; then later; the overspeed warnings came on. I lowered the nose as well as tried to return the aircraft to a wings level condition. I glanced at the radar to try to find somewhere smoother to go; but there was nothing anywhere on the radar. For awhile later; there was still moderate turbulence. We declared an emergency; and the Captain called the flight attendants several times to check on them and the passengers. We proceeded to our destination. The approach; landing; and taxi in were uneventful. At the gate; we tried to help check on the flight attendants and passengers.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.