Airbus A319 Turbulence Incident Near Cottbus

Incident Overview and Casualties On 9 September 2019, an Airbus A319-112 operating a flight from Lamezia Terme, Italy, to Berlin Tegel encountered severe turbulence while descending near Cottbus. The incident resulted in seven people sustaining minor injuries and one person suffering a serious injury. No damage was reported to the aircraft or third parties. ## Flight Progression and Turbulence Event The aircraft, carrying 112 passengers and five crew members, began its descent from flight level 380 at 16:20:31 local time. At 16:30:44, the pilots activated the weather radar at approximately flight level 250 as the aircraft approached a cloud layer. The radar, set to WX/TURB mode, initially displayed only minor precipitation areas not on the planned route. At 16:30:55, the flight deck turned on the cabin seatbelt signs, and a flight attendant made a passenger announcement. Approximately eight seconds later, at 16:31:24 and before entering the cloud layer, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence at flight level 233, causing a negative vertical acceleration of approximately -0.6 g. This resulted in a brief climb of about 700 ft/min and a wind speed increase of 15 kt. ## Post-Event Actions and Landing Following the turbulence, the pilot-in-command reduced the aircraft's speed from 288 kt to 275 kt and adjusted the descent rate. At 16:32:11, the lead flight attendant reported that two crew members had hit their heads on the ceiling, another crew member injured a finger, and a passenger had struck the ceiling. The pilot requested medical assistance after landing and informed air traffic control that the aircraft could not maintain the assigned speed and descent rate due to the turbulence. After entering the cloud layer, the weather radar displayed larger areas of yellow and possibly red precipitation. At 16:39:25, the copilot requested a course change to 345° to avoid intense precipitation, which was approved. The aircraft landed safely at Berlin Tegel on runway 26R at 16:48. Thirteen people sought medical treatment at the parking position, including four passengers and three flight attendants with minor injuries, and one passenger who was hospitalized for more than 48 hours.