Narrative:

During descent into rsw; aircraft encountered severe turbulence. Aircraft initially lost 300 ft instantly; followed by another 500 ft. Maximum aircraft pitch attitude was 30-40 degrees nose down; and 50-60 degrees right bank. Numerous items were thrown around the cabin and cockpit; and the first officer lost his headset. While turbulence can not be avoided; certain precautions should be taken to minimize risk to passengers and crew. During our event; most large items were properly secured. The exceptions to this were the passengers laptop bag; coat hangers and first aid kit. All of these items became airborne and landed at the main cabin door. I recommend a policy of securing the first aid kit to the aircraft; and stowing the hangers while not in use.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A corporate jet Captain described a loss of control incident in severe turbulence.

Narrative: During descent into RSW; aircraft encountered severe turbulence. Aircraft initially lost 300 FT instantly; followed by another 500 FT. Maximum aircraft pitch attitude was 30-40 degrees nose down; and 50-60 degrees right bank. Numerous items were thrown around the cabin and cockpit; and the First Officer lost his headset. While turbulence can not be avoided; certain precautions should be taken to minimize risk to passengers and crew. During our event; most large items were properly secured. The exceptions to this were the passengers laptop bag; coat hangers and first aid kit. ALL OF THESE ITEMS BECAME AIRBORNE and landed at the main cabin door. I recommend a policy of securing the first aid kit to the aircraft; and stowing the hangers while not in use.

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.