Incident Overview
Description
The flight crew reported that the flight experienced unexpected light-to-moderate turbulence during cruise flight for about 3 hours. The seatbelt sign was illuminated, and the passengers and flight attendants had been seated. A flight attendant, who was on her rest break and was resting in the bunk room, reported that the turbulence had stopped for a while and that she thought she heard a “faint ding” indicating that the seatbelt sign had been turned off, so she went to the lavatory. However, the flight then encountered moderate turbulence, during which the flight attendant sustained a serious injury while walking from her bunk to the lavatory. The flight attendant reported that announcements made over the public address system could not be heard in the bunk room and that it was not always possible to hear when the seatbelt sign was turned on or off. It is likely that, if the flight attendant had a visual indication that the seatbelt sign was on, she would not have attempted to get up until safe movement was assured. Probable Cause: The flight’s encounter with moderate clear air turbulence while en route, which resulted in a serious injury to a flight attendant.ÿContributingÿto the accident wasÿthe lack of communication equipment in the rest compartment,ÿwhich, if installed, could have alerted theÿcabinÿcrewmembers that theÿseatbelt sign was on.
Primary Cause
Unexpected moderate clear air turbulence while en route.Unexpected moderate clear air turbulence while en route.Share on:
