Narrative:

I was deadheading on the aft jumpseat; watching the flight attendant's working on the cart about a third of the way down the coach aisle. The moderate chop had started to get worse; and I was wondering if they would be able to finish the service. The number 1 flight attendant later told me that she had called the cockpit and asked to have the flight attendant's sit down; but that the pilots told her that we were almost out of the turbulence. A few minutes later; the turbulence got worse; so she made the PA for the fas to sit down. The two aisle fas made it to the aft galley; when suddenly the plane dropped dramatically. The number 4 flight attendant seemed to have found a handhold near the galley; so she didn't go flying; but the number 2 flight attendant flew up high in the air; his body parallel to the aisle. There was a second; even more severe drop immediately afterward; and he flew up again; this time higher than the seatbacks; and came down very hard. He didn't move for a while; which scared me; but the turbulence was so bad; I was afraid to leave my jumpseat. After a while; he limped to the jumpseat next to me; in obvious pain. Once the turbulence subsided; I made him an icepack. This was the worst turbulence I have experienced in my 31 year career. Many people were screaming; a man got a small cut on his arm when the cart went airborne and the teenage um in the last row was very frightened. The number 2 flight attendant became a helpless projectile in the cabin; with nothing but an airborne cart to hold on to. It was an image I will never forget.many times in the last few years; I have thought about the decline in communication between the cockpit and the flight attendants regarding turbulence. We used to be called about turbulence much more often than we are now. Even when unexpected turbulence occurred; we would get a call asking us how we were; and letting us know approximately how much longer we could expect rough air. Not so much anymore. Many times lately I've sat in the back of a 777; with turbulence so bad the carts were falling over; and we never heard a word from the pilots. It made us feel forgotten; unimportant and expendable. Just last week after takeoff; we experienced such bad turbulence that we were holding on to the handholds in the fc galley; scared to death. It was so bad that we couldn't even let go with one hand to get into the jumpseats we were leaning against. Both of us have over 30 years flying experience; and are used to turbulence; but this event was so severe; our hands were shaking for about ten minutes afterwards. When I later spoke to the pilots about it; they just kind of shrugged and seemed very unconcerned. These observations are general. There are many great pilots who are proactive; team-oriented and concerned for our safety. It's just that there seems to be a large increase in the number of pilots who are not so aware of the conditions we are experiencing on the other side of the cockpit door. Cameras in the cabin might help convey the seriousness of some of the turbulence we experience; but mainly; I think there needs to be more communication between the crew members. We in the cabin are flying blind; so to speak; and are almost always unsecured in a part of the aircraft that experiences much worse turbulence than the cockpit.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A deadheading Flight Attendant reported an encounter with turbulence that occurred during cabin service. One of the flight attendants was injured. The reporter lamented the lack of communication between the pilots and flight attendants before and after the incident.

Narrative: I was deadheading on the aft jumpseat; watching the FA's working on the cart about a third of the way down the coach aisle. The moderate chop had started to get worse; and I was wondering if they would be able to finish the service. The number 1 FA later told me that she had called the cockpit and asked to have the FA's sit down; but that the pilots told her that we were almost out of the turbulence. A few minutes later; the turbulence got worse; so she made the PA for the FAs to sit down. The two aisle FAs made it to the aft galley; when suddenly the plane dropped dramatically. The number 4 FA seemed to have found a handhold near the galley; so she didn't go flying; but the number 2 FA flew up high in the air; his body parallel to the aisle. There was a second; even more severe drop immediately afterward; and he flew up again; this time higher than the seatbacks; and came down very hard. He didn't move for a while; which scared me; but the turbulence was so bad; I was afraid to leave my jumpseat. After a while; he limped to the jumpseat next to me; in obvious pain. Once the turbulence subsided; I made him an icepack. This was the worst turbulence I have experienced in my 31 year career. Many people were screaming; a man got a small cut on his arm when the cart went airborne and the teenage UM in the last row was very frightened. The number 2 FA became a helpless projectile in the cabin; with nothing but an airborne cart to hold on to. It was an image I will never forget.Many times in the last few years; I have thought about the decline in communication between the cockpit and the flight attendants regarding turbulence. We used to be called about turbulence much more often than we are now. Even when unexpected turbulence occurred; we would get a call asking us how we were; and letting us know approximately how much longer we could expect rough air. Not so much anymore. Many times lately I've sat in the back of a 777; with turbulence so bad the carts were falling over; and we never heard a word from the pilots. It made us feel forgotten; unimportant and expendable. Just last week after takeoff; we experienced such bad turbulence that we were holding on to the handholds in the FC galley; scared to death. It was so bad that we couldn't even let go with one hand to get into the jumpseats we were leaning against. Both of us have over 30 years flying experience; and are used to turbulence; but this event was so severe; our hands were shaking for about ten minutes afterwards. When I later spoke to the pilots about it; they just kind of shrugged and seemed very unconcerned. These observations are general. There are many great pilots who are proactive; team-oriented and concerned for our safety. It's just that there seems to be a large increase in the number of pilots who are not so aware of the conditions we are experiencing on the other side of the cockpit door. Cameras in the cabin might help convey the seriousness of some of the turbulence we experience; but mainly; I think there needs to be more communication between the crew members. We in the cabin are flying blind; so to speak; and are almost always unsecured in a part of the aircraft that experiences much worse turbulence than the cockpit.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.