What happened
On April 3, 2024, at approximately 08:20 EDT, a Boeing 737-700 operated by Southwest Airlines, registration N567WN, was flying from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Orlando, Florida, when it encountered severe turbulence. The flight was operating as a scheduled passenger service under Part 1 overlap 121 regulations.
During the flight, the crew encountered occasional chop while leveled at flight level 370. As the aircraft approached the REMIS waypoint, the crew began deviating around convective cells. Although the crew visually identified a rapidly developing cloud top that was not appearing on the onboard radar, the aircraft entered the cloud buildup during a right turn intended to avoid the cell.
The encounter with severe turbulence lasted approximately 10 seconds, characterized by fluctuations of up to 30 degrees of bank, 20 knots of airspeed, and 200 feet of altitude. Flight data recorded vertical accelerations ranging from -0.45g to +1.8g. This was followed by approximately one minute of moderate turbulence.
Of the 5 crew members and 140 passengers on board, two serious injuries and one minor injury were reported, involving one passenger and two flight attendants. The aircraft sustained no damage. The crew subsequently diverted the flight to Tampa International Airport (TPA), where the aircraft landed without further incident and medical personnel met the aircraft at the gate.
The investigation
NTSB specialists investigated air traffic control, meteorology, and flight data recorder components. The investigation revealed that a major cold front was moving through the southeastern United States, with a squall line of thunderstorms extending into the Gulf of Mexico.
At the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), investigators found that the controller was managing a significantly higher number of aircraft than the sector's target of 20. Furthermore, the controller's workload was impacted by technical limitations involving a temporary VHF communications antenna. Due to a primary antenna failure in October 2023, the center was using a satellite relay connection that introduced a 600-millisecond round-trip delay, causing clipped communications and requiring the controller to repeat calls to multiple aircraft.