ERJ-175 flight crew encountered turbulence and reported it to ATC as severe; however; afterwards decided it did not meet the criteria for severe turbulence.
Synopsis
ERJ-175 flight crew encountered turbulence and reported it to ATC as severe; however; afterwards decided it did not meet the criteria for severe turbulence.
Narrative
On flight ZZZ to ZZZ1 we encountered severe turbulence on the arrival into ZZZ1. Aircraft control was not sustained; extremely unpleasant ride; basically the classic definition of severe turbulence. As Pilot Monitoring (PM) I reported the turbulence; we called maintenance on the ground and they inspected the aircraft. The next flight; from ZZZ1 to ZZZ2; during the departure we hit turbulence; The bumps were intense and an all around bad ride. As PF I elected to hand fly as I did not want the AP to disengage and wanted to maintain positive aircraft control through the turbulence. Airspeed was uncontrollable (+/-) 30 knots but altitude was maintained (6;000) and heading was maintained as best as possible. The Captain as PM reported the turbulence as severe while we were still in the turbulence and as PF and hand flying I didn't question the call on the turbulence. We reached cruise without any injuries or aircraft damage and determined that the turbulence was in fact moderate and not severe because I was able to maintain aircraft control and altitude at level off. Don't rush a radio call on rides. Turbulence creates a high stress environment but as pilots we need to be able to slow down and control the world around us in order to formulate the best answer or decision.
Second reporter narrative
On Aircraft X into ZZZ1 we experienced severe turbulence. We were on a descent around 12;000 ft. and had already crossed a front of weather. No convection was showing on the radar. But it was uncontrollable and we went from a descent to a climb and speed acceleration with throttles at idle; that was written up in the logbook. On the departure out of ZZZ1 we were still in front on the line of weather. We requested a left turn to avoid some additional build ups. ATC told us to expect that before the weather. The turn was given before the weather but the ride was horrible. It was a high stress environment because we had just cleaned up the flaps and were leveling off at an altitude. As all that was being accomplished we had a radio switch too. When getting the transfer I informed ATC we had severe turbulence. This was the quickest way to get my point across for the kind of ride we went through even though we remained clear of the cell. After further discussion later in the flight with the First Officer (FO) we decided that was the wrong call to ATC. It had not met the definition of severe turbulence and was not like; or as bad as; the serve turbulence on the previous flight. The FO was hand flying and able to maintain control of the aircraft. He was hand flying and able to level off at assigned altitude. Looking back on what I should have said to ATC; severe was the wrong call. It should have been a moderate turbulence and I could have said try not to send planes through where we went. Slow down with radio calls and think about the reports you're giving.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.