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Emb-175 flight crew reported two wake turbulence encounters inbound to iad in trail of a B777 that resulted in 'abrupt' rolls and loss of altitude.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1449202 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201705 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZDC.ARTCC |
| State Reference | VA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | EMB ERJ 170/175 ER/LR |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | B777 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying First Officer |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying Captain |
| 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 Wake Vortex Encounter |
Narrative:
[We were cruising] at FL350. The aircraft abruptly banked left 50-60 degrees with no warning. The autopilot was on and we were in VMC conditions and smooth air. Both the captain and myself grabbed the controls and regained control of the aircraft; bringing the wings level. The autopilot was disconnected in this process. We notified ATC of the event and asked if we were behind any heavy aircraft. ATC informed us that we were 9 miles in trail of a B777. We lost roughly 1500 feet during the event but we were already cleared to descend to FL270 at our discretion to cross a fix at that altitude. We coordinated with ATC to continue our descent early and slow the aircraft to increase separation with the heavy B777 in front of us. A few minutes later we were passed to approach control. After we checked in with approach control the aircraft again abruptly banked to the left roughly 20-25 degrees. We informed ATC of this additional event and asked for an off course vector to get away from the B777 in front of us. The flight was then completed normally.two passengers were injured in the cabin but refused treatment. FA1 was injured by a galley cart. The captain coordinated with operations and asked for a customer service manager [and] paramedics to meet us at the gate. Paramedics cleared both passengers and the flight attendant was taken to the hospital for observation.increase separation behind heavy aircraft to avoid wake turbulence.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: EMB-175 flight crew reported two wake turbulence encounters inbound to IAD in trail of a B777 that resulted in 'abrupt' rolls and loss of altitude.
Narrative: [We were cruising] at FL350. The aircraft abruptly banked left 50-60 degrees with no warning. The autopilot was on and we were in VMC conditions and smooth air. Both the Captain and myself grabbed the controls and regained control of the aircraft; bringing the wings level. The autopilot was disconnected in this process. We notified ATC of the event and asked if we were behind any heavy aircraft. ATC informed us that we were 9 miles in trail of a B777. We lost roughly 1500 feet during the event but we were already cleared to descend to FL270 at our discretion to cross a fix at that altitude. We coordinated with ATC to continue our descent early and slow the aircraft to increase separation with the heavy B777 in front of us. A few minutes later we were passed to Approach Control. After we checked in with Approach Control the aircraft again abruptly banked to the left roughly 20-25 degrees. We informed ATC of this additional event and asked for an off course vector to get away from the B777 in front of us. The flight was then completed normally.Two passengers were injured in the cabin but refused treatment. FA1 was injured by a galley cart. The Captain coordinated with operations and asked for a customer service manager [and] paramedics to meet us at the gate. Paramedics cleared both passengers and the flight attendant was taken to the hospital for observation.Increase separation behind heavy aircraft to avoid wake turbulence.
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.