Incident Details
On December 26, 2008, at approximately 2340 central standard time, a Republic Airlines Embraer 170-10 encountered severe turbulence while en route to Kansas City International Airport (MCI) in Kansas City, Missouri. The flight was operating under visual meteorological conditions with an instrument flight plan filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 flight. The flight crew consisted of two pilots, two flight attendants, and 73 passengers.
According to a statement from the captain, while performing the en route descent into MCI, air traffic control warned the crew of convective activity near the landing airport. The pilots were given permission to deviate as necessary to avoid the weather. The captain stated that after utilizing the airplane's weather radar, a course was selected that would avoid the thunderstorms, but the captain anticipated turbulence. The first officer communicated the warning to the flight attendants and passengers. While avoiding the thunderstorms, the captain reported that the flight encountered "light chop with areas of moderate to severe turbulence."
Injuries
One flight attendant sustained a serious injury during the event. In a statement, the injured flight attendant reported that after receiving the warning from the first officer, she transported the beverage cart to the aft galley. While securing the beverage cart, the airplane encountered a "violent surge of turbulence," which threw her upward. She landed on the left side of her body, fracturing her ankle. A subsequent medical examination confirmed the ankle fracture. The two pilots, the other flight attendant, and the 73 passengers were not injured.
Weather Conditions
At 2353, an automated weather reporting facility at MCI reported winds from 190 degrees at 15 knots, visibility of 9 statute miles, scattered clouds at 3,000 feet, temperature 63 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 59 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure of 29.62 inches of mercury. Remarks noted that thunderstorm conditions ended at 2348, and occasional lightning was present in-cloud and cloud-to-cloud southwest of the station. Thunderstorms were present to the southwest and were moving northeast.