What happened
An American Airlines Boeing 727-223 was operating under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) at flight level 30,200 when it encountered unexpected weather. The aircraft was approximately 15 nautical miles northwest of Fort Myers, Florida, and was in a descent toward Miami International Airport (MIA).
The aircraft encountered unforecasted severe turbulence during this phase of flight. While the airplane sustained no structural damage, the turbulence resulted in injuries to those on board: one flight attendant sustained serious injuries, and one passenger sustained minor injuries. Following the encounter, the flight continued to its destination without further incident.
The investigation
An analysis of the flight data recorder (FDR) was conducted to determine the extent of the atmospheric disturbance. The data revealed that the aircraft was subjected to a series of oscillating vertical G-loads lasting for a duration of 50 seconds. During this period, the maximum recorded load was 1.94 G, and the minimum recorded load was -0.55 G.