Incident Details
On July 28, 2016, at 0111 eastern daylight time, JetBlue Airways flight 1561, an Airbus A321 registered as N913JB, was in cruise when it encountered turbulence. The flight was operating as a regularly scheduled passenger service under 14 CFR Part 121 from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI), Barbados. Following the turbulence, the flight diverted to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Injuries and Damage
The turbulence resulted in one flight attendant sustaining a serious injury. No injuries were reported among other passengers and crew, and the aircraft was not damaged.
Flight Attendant Account
According to the operator, the incident occurred while the flight attendant at position #4 was carrying a pot of hot water from the aft galley toward an aft lavatory. The flight attendant stated that she held onto the galley counter with her right hand and swung the coffee pot in her left hand toward the jumpseat, away from another flight attendant. She reported that the aircraft experienced a sudden drop, causing the water in the pot to fly upward and land on her left shoulder and left side, resulting in second-degree burns.
Weather and Crew Actions
The flight crew indicated that at the time of the event, weather conditions were mostly clear, though they had encountered short segments of instrument meteorological conditions as forecasted, with no associated turbulence or precipitation. The crew had been actively using the onboard weather radar but observed no returns that led to deviations. The first officer described the turbulence as sudden, with no accompanying rain or precipitation, and stated that conditions immediately returned to calm, so no actions were taken.
Quick Access Recorder Data
The operator reported that data from the Quick Access Recorder (QAR) showed smooth flight conditions prior to the turbulence encounter.