Incident
On August 16, 2010, at about 10:05 PM eastern daylight time, British Airways flight 265, a Boeing 767-300ER registered G-BNWU, encountered turbulence while on approach to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Dulles, Virginia. The flight was a regularly scheduled passenger service from London-Heathrow International Airport (LHR), London, United Kingdom, operating under 14 CFR Part 129. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time.
Flight Crew Actions
The first officer was the flying pilot. The takeoff, climb, cruise, and initial descent were normal. During the initial descent into IAD, the crew requested vectors from air traffic control to avoid a small cumulus buildup. About 20 minutes before landing, the crew made a public address announcement and turned on the seatbelt sign. The first officer reported that the flight remained in smooth conditions, avoiding the cumulus by about 5 miles.
As the flight was being vectored to the localizer for runway 16C, the airplane entered thin cloud tops in a descending left turn and experienced a brief “jolt” of turbulence. According to the quick access recorder, while descending through about 8,100 feet pressure altitude, normal acceleration increased to 1.69 g as the airplane was in a 25-degree left bank.
Cabin Crew Statements
The injured flight attendant was securing the aft galley for landing when it became bumpy. The purser said, “let’s sit down.” As she moved toward her jump seat, the turbulence threw her into the air and she landed face first on the floor. At that time, the Slide Arm Indicator was set to white, indicating the cabin was secure, though flight attendants were still securing the cabin.
Shortly after the airplane was established on final approach, the crew overheard via cabin interphone that a flight attendant was injured. After a brief conversation with the senior flight attendant, they decided to continue the approach and manage the problem on the ground. They did not alert ATC because they were unaware of the injury severity.
After landing, the cabin service director advised that medical assistance was needed. Unable to contact the company during taxi, they requested a paramedic immediately after parking at the gate. Paramedics arrived about 5 minutes later.
The cabin service director stated that at the time of turbulence, the airplane was on final approach about 5-6 minutes from landing with seatbelt signs on, and there was no advanced warning.
Injuries
The injured flight attendant was hospitalized for two days and diagnosed with fractures to both cheekbones, a crushed nerve, whiplash, and bleeding into neck muscles.
Weather Conditions
Terminal forecasts for IAD on August 16, 2010, at 2100 UTC indicated winds variable at 3 knots, visibility greater than 6 statute miles, showers in the vicinity, and broken clouds at 3,500 feet and overcast at 5,000 feet. At 0300 UTC August 17, winds from 320° at 4 knots, visibility greater than 6 statute miles, broken clouds at 5,000 feet and overcast at 7,000 feet. The METAR at 0152 UTC (2152 EDT) recorded winds from 200° at 3 knots, visibility greater than 10 statute miles, few clouds at 10,000 feet, temperature 26°C, dew point 23°C, and altimeter 29.96.