Plane Crash Reports 2003

2003 Plane Crash Report Result

Title: ORDINATED (UTC), AN AIRBUS A340-300 TRANSPORT AIRPLANE, GERMAN RE

Report Date: 08/20

Plane Crash Problem: On August 6, 2003, approximately 2057 universal time coordinated (UTC), an Airbus A340-300 transport airplane, German registration D-AIGK, operating as Lufthansa Flight 440, encountered severe turbulence during cruise flight at flight level 310 (Walnut Ridge Vortac, ARG, 040 degree radial at 029 DME). The airplane was registered to and operated by Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Cologne, Germany. The scheduled international flight was operating under Code of Federal Regulations Part 129. Three cabin crew members and 40 passengers received minor injures, and 2 passengers received serious injuries. The 3 flight crew members, 8 cabin crew members, and 202 passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained minor damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed and activated. The flight originated at Frankfurt, Germany, at 1218 UTC. According to the company and the flight crew, the captain was the pilot non- flying (PNF) during the event, the first officer was the pilot flying (PF), and the senior first officer was in the cockpit crew rest (CCR). The airplane was in and out of clouds, seat belt signs were on, and on the weather radar there were several echoes shown to the southwest from 40-80 NM (nautical miles). Diversion of the flight to the west was considered by the flight crew; however, there were no echoes in front of the route, and the flight crew decided to continue along the route. Subsequently, flying into a cloud what seemed to be several layers of thin clouds the flight crew noticed a change in density, but did not get any radar echoes. A few seconds later the flight encountered severe turbulence. The captain stated, "It felt like a hard upward movement, following an extreme downdraft throwing everything in the cockpit up into the air. It stopped abruptly." The flight crew assessed the cockpit situation, and the senior first officer informed the captain that there were passenger injuries and damage to the cabin. The captain requested and was cleared to the nearest airport, Little Rock, Arkansas, (LIT). At flight level 200, the senior first officer informed the captain that the cabin attendants were assisting the passengers, and medical assistance was given by several physicians with no assessment of life-threatening injures. The flight crew decided to continue the flight to Houston, Texas (KIAH). The captain informed the controller, who cleared the airplane to climb to flight level 280, and issued a direct route via radar vectors for ILS runway 27 at KIAH. At 2207 UTC, the airplane landed at KIAH and proceeded without delay to terminal D gate 12. Immediate medical assistance was received by the injured, and they were transported to area hospitals. The FAA inspectors and Lufthansa maintenance team, who responded to the accident site, found ceiling panel damage throughout the cabin. The integrity of the pressure vessel was not found compromised.

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