Narrative:

Dispatch advised that denver airport was experiencing a ground stop due to severe turbulence reports. Denver reopened; and flight departed 52 minutes late. Den ATIS reported moderate-severe turbulence 50 miles northwest of denver. I ACARS'd dispatch and asked about arrivals. He told us that there was moderate turbulence; and that the only severe report was by a small aircraft. Out of FL290 on the ramms arrival; approach advised of only light chop on the arrival. The next controller advised the aircraft ahead of us that there was a report of moderate to severe turbulence from 14;000 to 13;300. That flight responded a few moments later; 'yeah; we go that turbulence you were talking about'. We were cleared out of 17;000 to 13;000 and began the flight in 'open descent'; at 250K in light turbulence and VFR conditions. At 14;000 feet the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. Airspeed dropped to 220K followed to by a jump to 290K. The aircraft pitched up and rolled to 30 degrees of left bank. The autopilot remained engaged and the aircraft slowly recovered to wings level flight. We requested a lower altitude; and the turbulence decreased to moderate as we descended to 10;000. We were in severe turbulence for approximately 1 minute. Pitch deviations were +/- 10 degrees; roll +/- 30 degrees; airspeed +/- 35 knots. Normal landing was made on runway 16L. Prior to departure I had briefed both the flight attendants and the passengers of the weather conditions and emphasized the importance of honoring the 'fasten seat belt' sign. The flight attendants did a great job of 'battening down the hatches' prior to the arrival; there were no injuries to crew or passengers. Maintenance and dispatch were advised after landing.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 Flight Crew experienced forecast severe turbulence on descent into DEN but proper planning and coordination with the flight attendants and passengers helped avoid serious consequences from the encounter.

Narrative: Dispatch advised that Denver Airport was experiencing a ground stop due to Severe Turbulence reports. Denver reopened; and flight departed 52 minutes late. DEN ATIS reported moderate-severe turbulence 50 miles northwest of Denver. I ACARS'd dispatch and asked about arrivals. He told us that there was moderate turbulence; and that the only severe report was by a small aircraft. Out of FL290 on the RAMMS arrival; Approach advised of only light chop on the arrival. The next Controller advised the aircraft ahead of us that there was a report of moderate to severe turbulence from 14;000 to 13;300. That flight responded a few moments later; 'Yeah; we go that turbulence you were talking about'. We were cleared out of 17;000 to 13;000 and began the flight in 'open descent'; at 250K in light turbulence and VFR conditions. At 14;000 feet the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. Airspeed dropped to 220K followed to by a jump to 290K. The aircraft pitched up and rolled to 30 degrees of left bank. The autopilot remained engaged and the aircraft slowly recovered to wings level flight. We requested a lower altitude; and the turbulence decreased to moderate as we descended to 10;000. We were in severe turbulence for approximately 1 minute. Pitch deviations were +/- 10 degrees; roll +/- 30 degrees; airspeed +/- 35 knots. Normal landing was made on Runway 16L. Prior to departure I had briefed both the flight attendants and the passengers of the weather conditions and emphasized the importance of honoring the 'fasten seat belt' sign. The Flight Attendants did a great job of 'battening down the hatches' prior to the arrival; there were no injuries to crew or passengers. Maintenance and Dispatch were advised after landing.

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.