Boeing 777 N779AN

Summary

On 23 February 2007 at about 12:22 local time, a Boeing 777 registered N779AN was involved in an accident near Chicago, Illinois, United States. 104 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.

Date

23 February 2007 at 12:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Chicago O-Hare Intl (ORD)

Coordinates

41.9786, -87.9047

Aircraft

Boeing 777

Registration

N779AN

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Shanghai → Chicago

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

CHI07LA078

1 person was seriously injured.

An in-flight encounter with turbulence during cruise flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A flight attendant was seriously injured during an in-flight encounter with unforecast moderate to severe turbulence. The international air carrier flight was in cruise flight at the time of the accident. The captain stated the flight "encountered a brief (2-3 second) but very intense moderate-to-severe turbulence event" at flight level 340. He noted that continuous moderate turbulence continued for approximately 30 seconds, and periods of occasional-to-continuous moderate chop continued for about 10 minutes after the initial encounter. He added that there were no returns on the weather radar, and no pilot reports or adverse ride reports received from air traffic control. The fasten seat belt sign was on at the time of the encounter because the flight had encountered light chop after leveling off at cruise altitude. He reported that the ride had been smooth for approximately 10 minutes prior to the turbulence event. The injured flight attendant stated that she was working in the aft galley when the turbulence began. She reported that she hit her head on the ceiling and landed on the galley floor with her leg bent under her. The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) revealed that the airplane encountered a vertical acceleration ranging from 0.245 G to 1.246 G. The data also indicated that the autopilot was engaged, and no pitch inputs were made from the cockpit at the time of the encounter. Postaccident inspections did not reveal any damage to the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.