Boeing 737-7H4 N247WN accident near Laverne, Oklahoma

Probable cause

The airplane’s encounter with severe turbulence during cruise flight, which resulted in a serious injury to a flight attendant.

NTSB analysis

The flight had been experiencing moderate turbulence along its route. Once the turbulence had subsided, the seatbelt sign was turned off. The flight attendants had resumed their service when the flight encountered three additional turbulence jolts. The aft galley flight attendant was trying to get seated and strapped into the jumpseat but was injured when another turbulence jolt occurred. She was thrown across the galley and hit her back/ribs on an object. Flight data recorder information showed that vertical accelerations fluctuated between about 0.75 g and 1.2 g; lateral accelerations also fluctuated during this period, between about +/- 0.05 g. An airmen’s meteorological information advisory for moderate turbulence was active for the accident location at the time. A significant meteorological information advisory for occasional severe turbulence was active for an area west of the accident location.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR12LA144 for the full record.