Cl-30 flight crew reported encountering severe turbulence in descent over the front range of the roc...

Narrative:

Descending out of cruise altitude reports of continuous moderate turbulence by other aircraft around the front range of the rocky mountains was noted and the crew was also advised by ATC. The second in command left the flight deck and advised the passengers of the turbulence and secured the cabin. The crew requested a slower airspeed and 230 knots was assigned. The weather in the descent was clear with no clouds and unlimited visibility. The aircraft was cleared to descend to FL240 and was on an assigned heading due to traffic volume. Turbulence began around FL260 and increased in intensity around 24;500 feet. The airspeed began to become erratic with plus or minus 30 knots and as the turbulence increased the autopilot was unable to capture the altitude of FL240 assigned. At around 23;600 feet the autopilot was disconnected and the PIC maintained control of the aircraft. Air traffic control was advised that severe turbulence was encountered and cleared the aircraft to FL230. Leveling off at FL230 the turbulence ended and the aircraft landed without further incident. There were no injuries to the passengers. Several glasses had broken; three in the galley cabinet and one in the cabin; and one panel of oxygen masks dropped.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CL-30 flight crew reported encountering severe turbulence in descent over the front range of the Rockies.

Narrative: Descending out of cruise altitude reports of continuous moderate turbulence by other aircraft around the front range of the Rocky Mountains was noted and the crew was also advised by ATC. The second in command left the flight deck and advised the passengers of the turbulence and secured the cabin. The crew requested a slower airspeed and 230 knots was assigned. The weather in the descent was clear with no clouds and unlimited visibility. The aircraft was cleared to descend to FL240 and was on an assigned heading due to traffic volume. Turbulence began around FL260 and increased in intensity around 24;500 feet. The airspeed began to become erratic with plus or minus 30 knots and as the turbulence increased the autopilot was unable to capture the altitude of FL240 assigned. At around 23;600 feet the autopilot was disconnected and the PIC maintained control of the aircraft. Air traffic control was advised that severe turbulence was encountered and cleared the aircraft to FL230. Leveling off at FL230 the turbulence ended and the aircraft landed without further incident. There were no injuries to the passengers. Several glasses had broken; three in the galley cabinet and one in the cabin; and one panel of oxygen masks dropped.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1412876
Time
Date	201612
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZDV.ARTCC
State Reference	CO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Challenger 300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Descent
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Cl-30 flight crew reported encountering severe turbulence in descent over the front range of the rockies.