Incident Overview

Date: Tuesday 25 May 2010
Aircraft Type: Boeing 777-222ER
Owner/operator: United Airlines
Registration Number: N794UA
Location: over Atlantic Ocean – ÿ Canada
Phase of Flight: En route
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 211
Component Affected: Aircraft control system (specifically, the autopilot’s elevator input).Aircraft control system (specifically, the autopilot’s elevator input).
Category: Accident
A flight encountered severe turbulence near the southern tip of Greenland due to a downdraft followed by an updraft. Simulation analysis confirmed the aircraft’s response to the wind profile, resulting in reduced elevator input during the disturbance. Rapidly changing vertical winds caused by icecap wave instability led to severe turbulence.A flight encountered severe turbulence near the southern tip of Greenland due to a downdraft followed by an updraft. Simulation analysis confirmed the aircraft’s response to the wind profile, resulting in reduced elevator input during the disturbance. Rapidly changing vertical winds caused by icecap wave instability led to severe turbulence.

Description

The flight encountered clear air turbulence near the southern tip of Greenland. A review of the weather briefing provided to the accident flight crew by company Flight Dispatch contained relevant SIGMETs along the proposed route of flight. The package was not found to be missing any pertinent published information that could have alerted the flight crew to an enroute encounter with turbulence over Greenland. Analysis of the calculated winds indicated the airplane encountered a downdraft on the order of 13 feet/sec followed sharply by an updraft of approximately 24 feet/sec. Simulation analysis of the upset confirmed that the airplane reacted as expected to the calculated wind profile and the recorded control inputs. Based on the simulation study that was performed, the recorded elevator input from the autopilot during the disturbance reduced the magnitude of the upset. Analysis of the surrounding atmosphere and GOES-3 satellite photographs indicated the presence of icecap wave instability along the airplane’s route of flight that was capable of producing rapidly changing vertical winds on the order of 20 feet per second, which resulted in conditions conducive to severe turbulence. Probable Cause: An inadvertent encounter with unforecast turbulence in cruise flight.

Source of Information

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20100526-218424.html, https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL935/history/20100525/0915Z/EGLL/CYUL, http://avherald.com/h?article=42bfe842&opt=0, http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/home/contentposting?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20100525%2fturbulence-flight-montreal-100525http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20100526-218424.html, https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL935/history/20100525/0915Z/EGLL/CYUL, http://avherald.com/h?article=42bfe842&opt=0, http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/home/contentposting?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20100525%2fturbulence-flight-montreal-100525

Primary Cause

Inadvertent encounter with unforeseen turbulence in cruise flight.Inadvertent encounter with unforeseen turbulence in cruise flight.

Share on:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *