An A319 flight crew reported severe turbulence climbing out of FL310 suggesting it may have been a w...

Narrative:

Aircraft was on climbout from ewr in mostly smooth air. Passing through approximately FL310 the airplane banked suddenly to the left with a rapid roll rate and seemed to exceed 30 degrees of bank. This was followed by another rapid roll to the right which also seemed to exceed 30 degrees of bank. The PF (captain) disconnected the autopilot to attempt to regain control of the aircraft. Airplane was slightly leveled off and somewhat under control when captain decided to expedite climb to try to exit the turbulence. Event seemed to end when passing through approximately FL320. Total event lasted maybe 15-20 seconds. Winds were 280/75 sat -45. No convective activity; only light layer of cirrus clouds. Engine anti-ice was on. Seatbelt sign had been on since takeoff and flight attendants were told to be seated over the PA. There was an aircraft 5 NM ahead on our route within 1000 ft of our altitude which ATC identified as an A320. It could have been a wake encounter from that aircraft. ATC; dispatch; and maintenance were notified of the severe turbulence encounter. There were no reported injuries and no apparent damage to the aircraft. Flight continued normally to destination.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A319 flight crew reported severe turbulence climbing out of FL310 suggesting it may have been a wake encounter since the weather appeared benign and they were following another Airbus 5 miles ahead.

Narrative: Aircraft was on climbout from EWR in mostly smooth air. Passing through approximately FL310 the airplane banked suddenly to the left with a rapid roll rate and seemed to exceed 30 degrees of bank. This was followed by another rapid roll to the right which also seemed to exceed 30 degrees of bank. The PF (Captain) disconnected the autopilot to attempt to regain control of the aircraft. Airplane was slightly leveled off and somewhat under control when Captain decided to expedite climb to try to exit the turbulence. Event seemed to end when passing through approximately FL320. Total event lasted maybe 15-20 seconds. Winds were 280/75 SAT -45. No convective activity; only light layer of cirrus clouds. Engine anti-ice was on. Seatbelt sign had been on since takeoff and Flight Attendants were told to be seated over the PA. There was an aircraft 5 NM ahead on our route within 1000 FT of our altitude which ATC identified as an A320. It could have been a wake encounter from that aircraft. ATC; Dispatch; and Maintenance were notified of the severe turbulence encounter. There were no reported injuries and no apparent damage to the aircraft. Flight continued normally to destination.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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	888818
Time
Date	201005
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZNY.ARTCC
State Reference	NY
Environment
Flight Conditions	Marginal
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150 Flight Crew Total 9000 Flight Crew Type 2900
Person 2
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 210 Flight Crew Total 13000 Flight Crew Type 3500
Events
Anomaly	Inflight Event / Encounter Wake Vortex Encounter Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

An A319 flight crew reported severe turbulence climbing out of FL310 suggesting it may have been a wake encounter since the weather appeared benign and they were following another airbus 5 miles ahead.