Airbus A320-232 N605AW
20 August 2001 · Needles, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 20 August 2001 at about 08:04 local time, a Airbus A320-232 registered N605AW, operated by America West Inc., was involved in an accident near Needles, California, United States. 140 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 08:04
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Needles, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 34.8283, -114.6193
- Aircraft
- Airbus A320-232
- Registration
- N605AW
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- America West Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Las Vegas → Tampa
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Night
- NTSB number
- MIA01LA224
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 140 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 139 |
Probable cause
an inadvertent in-flight encounter with turbulence.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The flight was assigned a routing to avoid thunderstorm activity. The seatbelt sign was illuminated, and the flight encountered moderate turbulence for approximately 5 seconds. One flight attendant, who was standing in the aft galley, struck her head and was knocked unconscious for approximately 5 minutes. The flightcrew communicated with the company, and the determination was made to continue to the destination. The flight attendant was unable to perform further duties. Upon arrival, the injured flight attendant was transported to the hospital for observation, where she remained for 48 hours. At the time of the accident convective SIGMET (Significant Meteorological Advisory) 12W was valid and stated: "…..AREA TS MOV LTL. TOPS ABV FL450." Area of thunderstorms moving very little. Tops above 45,000 feet mean sea level.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Airbus A320 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Mar 2001 | Airbus A320-200 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 21 Jan 2001 | Airbus A320-232 | Jamaica, New York, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 19 Apr 2001 | Airbus A320-232 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 16 Jun 2001 | Airbus A320-232 | San Diego, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 6 Jul 2002 | Airbus A320-212 | Paris, France | Air France | Unknown | - |
| 12 Jun 2000 | Airbus A320-232 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jul 2001 | Hughes 269C | Tracy, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 21 Jul 2001 | Cessna R172K | Mammoth Lakes, California, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Jun 2001 | Piper PA-46-350P | Stockton, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 7 Mar 2001 | Jones RV-6A | Inyokern, California, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 2 May 2001 | Cessna 177B | Santa Maria, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 8 Mar 2001 | Cessna 140 | San Jose, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |