It has emerged that a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 operating a flight between San Francisco and Tokyo suffered heavy turbulence, causing injuries.
Information has been released pertinent to the accident at hand, which has prompted an investigation.
Below is what we know on this event so far.
Japan Airlines JL57 San Francisco-Tokyo…
Japan Airlines flight JL57, which suffered the turbulence accident, is a routine scheduled flight between San Francisco and Tokyo.
Furthermore, the aircraft involved in the accident was JA865J.
As per data from Planespotters.net, JA865J is a 9.4 year old Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that was delivered to the airline back in August 2016.
Of the 787-9 variant, Japan Airlines has 22 of them in their fleet.
Within the 22, 21 are in active service, with one parked, offering an average fleet age of 8.0 years.
As well as the 787-9, the carrier has the following other aircraft in their mainline fleet:
- 26 Airbus A350 Family aircraft.
- 42 Boeing 737 Family aircraft.
- 27 Boeing 767 Family aircraft.
- 10 Boeing 777 Family aircraft.
- 23 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.
In total, they have 150 aircraft in their mainline fleet, of which 146 are in active service, and four are parked, with an average fleet age of 12.4 years.
Japan Airlines flight JL57, which suffered the turbulence accident, departed San Francisco at 1302 local time on December 21, and proceeded to head out towards Tokyo.
As per The Aviation Herald, it is understood the turbulence causing the accident happened over the Pacific Ocean at 38,000 feet.
Despite this accident, the crew continued on to Narita, where it landed around three and a half hours after the accident occurred without further developments.
JTSB Investigating Accident on the Boeing 787…
The Japan Ministry of Transport, or JTSB, is understood to be investigating the accident involving Japan Airlines flight JL57 San Francisco-Tokyo.
This is due to a flight attendant being injured as a result of the turbulence event that took place.
It is understood they received a fracture of the right medial cuneiform bone, and that this injury happened when the flight attendant was checking the lavatory for any passengers that weren’t in their seats.
It is also unclear whether this investigation will warrant a report or actions for the airline to take following this accident.
Second Turbulence Accident in a Week…
This turbulence accident involving Japan Airlines flight JL57 San Francisco-Tokyo was the first of two accidents that happened in a week involving the phenomena.
Just two days ago, on December 28, a Ryanair flight operating FR1121 from Birmingham to Tenerife South was enroute when the crew decided to turn back to their departure airport.
What followed was a normal descent which evolved into a rapid descent following an accident onboard that occurred, resulting in the squawking of 7700, the emergency code.
It is understood, as per The Aviation Herald, that turbulence occurred when cabin service was in progress, and as a result caused injuries to passengers and crew onboard.
The flight landed safely without further incident, but it is clear how the amount of turbulence accidents are beginning to mount up within the global aviation industry.
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