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| Date: | Monday 19 May 2008 |
| Time: | 13:40 LT |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 |
| Owner/operator: | Omni Air International |
| Registration: | N720AX |
| MSN: | 48252/342 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 162 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | over Pacific Ocean -
 Pacific Ocean
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Honolulu-Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, HI (HNL/PHNL) |
| Guam-A.B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM/PGUM) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, N720AX, operated by Omni Air International, as non-scheduled international passenger flight, reportedly experienced moderate turbulence, over the Pacific Ocean, while in cruise flight at FL360, about 450 nautical miles east of the Territory of Guam, United States of
America. The airplane subsequently landed in Guam, uneventfully. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. Of the 150 passengers and 12 crewmembers on board, two passengers and two flight attendants received minor injuries, and one flight attendant received serious injuries. The flight originated at Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii, the same day, about 0745 UTC.
The captain stated that the ride had been smooth at their cruise altitude of 36,000 feet, and the seatbelt sign was off. He further stated that there was some thunderstorm activity, and some towering cumulus in the area, and that the airplane's radar indicated the presence of a cell about 30 miles south of the airplane's position, with tops that reached about 28,000 to 30,000 feet. He said they encountered an area of higher clouds, but the radar still did not indicate any activity, and within a few seconds they felt an initial bump, followed by "moderate" turbulence. He said he then turned the seatbelt sign on, and a short while later he was notified that there were some injured passengers and flight attendants. The NTSB's Recorder Laboratory, Washington DC, read out the DFDR, and the data indicated that at 13:27:22 FDR Recorded GMT, at a pressure altitude of 36,000 feet, the vertical acceleration changed from 0.9 g's to 1.8 g's to -0.5 g's to 1.7 g's and then back to 0.9 g's all within 3 seconds, consistent with clear air turbulence. See the NTSB DFDR Factual Report. In addition the NTSB conducted a meteorological study, using data to include synoptic, upper air, and satellite data. See the NTSB Meteorological Factual Report.
Probable Cause: An inadvertent in-flight encounter with unforecasted clear air turbulence
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DCA08FA062
Location
Revision history:
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