A388, en-route, Wyoming USA, 2020

A388, en-route, Wyoming USA, 2020

Summary

On 2 February 2020, an Airbus A380 in the cruise at night at FL 330 encountered unforecast clear air turbulence with the seatbelt signs off and one unsecured passenger in a standard toilet compartment sustained a serious injury as a result. The Investigation noted that relevant airline policies and crew training had been in place but also observed a marked difference in the availability of handholds in toilet compartments provided for passengers with disabilities or other special needs and those in all other such compartments and made a corresponding safety recommendation to standardise and placard handhold provision in all toilet compartments.

Description

On 2 February 2020, an Airbus A380-800 (A6-EON) being operated by Emirates on a scheduled international passenger flight from Los Angeles to Dubai as EK216 with an augmented crew was in the cruise over the Rocky Mountains in night VMC at FL 330 when it suddenly encountered a brief period of unforecast significant turbulence which resulted in a serious injury to one of the 333 passengers. After a medically-informed assessment of the injury, the flight was completed to destination where the seriously injured passenger was hospitalised.

Investigation

The UAE GCAA Air Accident Investigation Sector (AAIS) was notified of the event by the operator and notified to the NTSB as the investigation agency for the State of Occurrence. Four days after the event, the NTSB then delegated the conduct of the Accident Investigation to the AAIS. Relevant data was downloaded from the FDR but as the flight had continued for more than two hours following the turbulence, relevant data from the CVR had been overwritten so was not accessed.

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