NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DCA14CA036
Registry · N687DL
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
BOEING 757-232
Year of manufacture
1998 · 16 years old at event
Seats / Engines
178 seats · 2 engines
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A91D8E
Registrant of record
DELTA AIR LINES INC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
unexpected encounter with convective turbulence while the flight attendants were preparing for arrival.
Factual narrative
The flight crew was anticipating light turbulence during the descent and notified the cabin and selected the fasten seatbelt sign on prior to descending from 28,000 feet. During the descent, as the flight attendants (FA) were still preparing the cabin for arrival, the turbulence increased to a level the crew categorized as moderate. During this time, while trying to get to her seat, a FA was thrown against the 3L door and fell to the floor injuring her right ankle. The FA could not complete her duties and was assisted into the last row of seats. Another FA informed the flight crew who arranged for paramedics to meet the airplane. The FA was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken right tibia in two places. The flight crew was anticipating light turbulence during the descent and notified the cabin and selected the fasten seatbelt sign on prior to descending from 28,000 feet. During the descent, as the flight attendants (FA) were still preparing the cabin for arrival, the turbulence increased to a level the crew categorized as moderate. During this time, while trying to get to her seat, a FA was thrown against the 3L door and fell to the floor injuring her right ankle. The FA could not complete her duties and was assisted into the last row of seats. Another FA informed the flight crew who arranged for paramedics to meet the airplane. The FA was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken right tibia in two places. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Turbulence-Convective turbulence-Effect on personnel - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2014_DCA14CA036.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (turbulence). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- arXiv 2026 · arXiv preprint
Direct Numerical Simulations of Ice-Ocean Boundary Turbulence
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Journal article (JAAER)
Political Turbulence and Aviation Safety: A Cross-National Analysis of Political Stability's Effects on Aviation Accidents
To what extent does political stability affect aviation safety? This research aims to link domestic political conditions and public safety through the consideration of aviation accident frequency.
- arXiv 2025 · arXiv preprint
Explainable LiDAR 3D Point Cloud Segmentation and Clustering for Detecting Airplane-Generated Wind Turbulence
Wake vortices - strong, coherent air turbulences created by aircraft - pose a significant risk to aviation safety and therefore require accurate and reliable detection methods.
- arXiv 2024 · arXiv preprint
Does small-scale turbulence matter for ice growth in mixed-phase clouds?
Representing the glaciation of mixed-phase clouds in terms of the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process is a challenge for many weather and climate models, which tend to overestimate this process because…
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Effects of electrostatic interaction on clustering and collision of bidispersed inertial particles in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence
In sandstorms and thunderclouds, turbulence-induced collisions between solid particles and ice crystals lead to inevitable triboelectrification.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2023 · SKYbrary article
Wake Vortex Turbulence — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary wake vortex turbulence comprehensive article — generation mechanics, dissipation factors, separation standards (ICAO LIGHT/MEDIUM/HEAVY/SUPER + recategorisation RECAT-EU).
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗