Boeing 747-238B N14024

Summary

On 20 January 1999, a Boeing 747-238B registered N14024 was involved in an incident near Pacific Ocean. 354 people were on board and 14 had minor injuries. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 January 1999

Classification

Incident

Location

Pacific Ocean

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Boeing 747-238B

Registration

N14024

Category

Airplane

Engines

4

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tokyo → Honolulu

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

SEA99IA032

14 people had minor injuries.

An encounter with Clear Air Turbulence at Flight Level 330.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Continental Airlines Boeing 747-238B departed Tokyo en route to Honolulu on a regularly scheduled passenger flight. The crew reported that turbulence had been forecasted. Approximately 59 minutes after departure, while cruising at FL330 in dark night conditions, the captain observed a sudden fluctuation in outside air temperature and the aircraft entered an area of wave activity. The Captain illuminated the seat belt signs and within 5-8 seconds the aircraft encountered severe clear air turbulence (CAT) which lasted for approximately 10 minutes. The aircraft continued on to its destination of Honolulu, Hawaii. Review of meteorological information indicated two jet streams traversing the area, one at 34,000 feet at 160 knots, and the other to the south at 39,000 feet at 180 knots. The jet streams generally diverged in the area of the event. A satellite image taken at the time of the event indicated a band of high level clouds in the immediate area. The clouds were aligned in a 'band' formation oriented northwest to southeast, and perpendicular to the wind flow pattern. This pattern was similar to previous CAT encounters with transverse wave cloud patterns. No useful information was available from either the cockpit voice or flight data recorders.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.