What happened
On 4 December 2023, an Emirates Airbus A380-861, registration A6-EEV, was operating a scheduled passenger service from Perth, Australia, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. While cruising at flight level 380 within the Male flight information region, the aircraft encountered a period of moderate to severe turbulence lasting approximately 50 seconds. During a six-second window of particularly intense vertical acceleration, the aircraft experienced g-load variations between -0.5g and +2.16g. The sudden movement caused significant cabin damage and resulted in 50 injuries, consisting of 7 serious and 4/3 minor injuries among the passengers and crew.
The investigation
The UAE Air Accident Investigation Sector (AAIS) conducted the inquiry, with assistance from the French BEA and Airbus. Investigators examined the aircraft's flight data, cockpit voice recordings, and weather radar performance. The probe focused on the meteorological conditions in the tropical environment, the functionality of the onboard Honeywell RDR-4000 weather radar, and the timing of the crew's response to the turbulence. The investigation also reviewed the effectiveness of the communication between the flight deck and the cabin crew during the event.
Findings
Investigators determined that the primary cause of the accident was the aircraft encountering severe turbulence linked to convective activity in a tropical region. The weather radar presentation provided insufficient warning because the radar reflectivity was weak and the storm cells were located outside the vertical corridor monitored by the autopilot, making them appear as off-path weather.
Several contributing factors were identified:
- Many passengers and cabin crew members were not restrained in their seats when the vertical accelerations occurred.
- There was a very narrow window between the pilot activating the seat belt sign and the onset of the severe turbulence, which prevented the cabin crew from fully securing the cabin or completing coordination with the flight deck.
- The radar did not trigger a turbulence alert due to a lack of sufficient hydrometeors for Doppler-based detection in the active mode.