Things That Go Bump On The Flight

It's not uncommon for airplanes flying over the Rocky Mountain region of the western United States to experience turbulent conditions... particularly in the spring and summer, as the ground warms. But passengers onboard a recent United Airlines flight say what they experienced was anything but routine.

KDVR-31 reports a United A320 enroute from Denver to Phoenix hit 'violent' turbulence the night of April 15, leading to injuries to one passenger and a flight attendant.

"The whole aircraft started to do a nose dive ... everybody was screaming; we were very convinced we were going to be in a million pieces on the ground," said passenger Mike McDonald.

While some hyperbole is perhaps understandable, initial reports do state the plane's nose dipped 15 degrees, and the aircraft fell nearly 1,000 feet. United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said the plane's co-pilot termed the incident "highly unusual.

"The level of turbulence was definitely more than what we would usually see in the Denver area," she added. "Whenever you go over the Rockies, typically there is some turbulence; this is not what we normally see in that area."

The flight returned to Denver... where the passenger was treated for a head injury, and the FA for a sprained knee. Investigators say the plane's flight data recorder may shed some light on the incident.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: UAL1427        Make/Model: A320      Description: A-320
  Date: 04/16/2008     Time: 0108

  Event Type: Incident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: None

LOCATION
  City: ALAMOSA   State: CO   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 1427, AN AIRBUS A320 AIRCRAFT, ENCOUNTERED SEVERE
  TURBULENCE, ONE CREWMEMBER AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES,
  ALAMOSA, CO

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   1
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   1
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Business      Phase: Unknown      Operation: Air Carrier

  FAA FSDO: DENVER, CO  (NM03)                    Entry date: 04/16/2008

FMI: www.united.com, www.faa.gov