Accident · 2024-04-03
What the record says
- Event date
- 2024-04-03
- Event type
- Accident
- Highest injury level
- Serious injury
- Aircraft
- BOEING 737-7CT (N567WN)
- Operating rule
- Part 121
- Operator
- SOUTHWEST AIRLINES, CO. Operator named in NTSB report
- Operated by (per NTSB report)
- SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO
Probable cause
The pilot’s inadvertent encounter with convectively induced turbulence from a broken line of embedded thunderstorms moving across the region. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the air traffic controller to issue pertinent weather information along the airplane’s route of flight due, in part, to the sector over-saturation and frequency congestion caused by damaged communication equipment and the inability to split the sector to alleviate some of the traffic volume.
Source: NTSB case DCA24FA143Flight crew
Certification and experience as recorded in the NTSB accident database for this event. The NTSB records these facts about the crew's flying history; GroundCheck shows them as filed, without names or identities.
| Role | Certificate | Instrument rating | Age | Medical | Flight hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Airline transport pilot | Airplane | 56 | Class 1 (2024-01-23) | 17,800 total · 7,800 in this make/model · 7,000 as PIC · 130 last 90 days |
| Co-pilot pilot flying | Airline transport pilot | Airplane | 47 | Class 2 (2023-06-26) | 13,079 total · 3,137 in this make/model · 3,257 as PIC · 162 last 90 days |
Facts as the NTSB records them — GroundCheck adds no judgement. Preliminary records may be revised as the investigation proceeds.