Passenger injured by rocking on Flight 3514

Outline

On July 4, 2006 Japan Airlines flight 3514(from Sapporo to Fukuoka) encountered sudden turbulence during cruising, in which one male passenger who stood up from his seat in the rear compartment, injured his right ankle. Two days later, the passenger notified us that he had fractured distal portion of the right calf bone. As a result, this case was classified as an Aircraft Accident by MLIT.

Cause

Investigation was conducted by Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Committee, and the results were announced on March 30, 2007. According to their report, the aircraft rocked due to air current disturbance in limited areas due to cumulonimbus clouds near the location of the accident, front of the warm frontal system, during cruising with the seatbelt sign turned off, and it is assumed that the passenger walking in the aisle lost his balance.

Countermeasures

We mainly carry on followings for preventing injury by turbulence.

• Review of the communicating system
• Improvement of the accuracy of the analysis of turbulence
• Enhancement of the education about weather for pilots, cabin attendants and dispatchers