EMB-175 flight crew reported encountering wake turbulence at FL340 from a B737 that crossed their path 1000 ft. above them.
Synopsis
EMB-175 flight crew reported encountering wake turbulence at FL340 from a B737 that crossed their path 1000 ft. above them.
Narrative
We encountered wake turbulence at FL340 while direct JAARE; about 15 NM Northeast of JAARE. At the time; we were with Atlanta Center. I was Pilot Monitoring; and the First Officer was Pilot Flying. The previous Controller had assigned us 0.78M or less for spacing. We were in FMS speeds at 0.78M in smooth air. When we switched to Atlanta Center; on TCAS and visually; a 737 at 1;000 ft above directly crossed paths with us without any notification of traffic from ATC. Due to this; I had been focusing more on TCAS noticing another aircraft was approximately 25 NM ahead of us. A few minutes later; we encountered wake turbulence. I immediately told the FO (First Officer) to reduce to 0.76 and HDG right of course watching the bank rate. We were rocked three times and at one point; saw 20 degrees of bank before we were able to get out of the wake. As the FO was correcting to the right; I told the FA's (Flight Attendant) to take their jump seats on the PA and told ATC that we encountered wake turbulence. ATC directed us to sidestep 2 miles to the right and informed us that there was an A320 ahead at FL360 on the same route. Due the wake and the heading we were already on; I requested a heading instead of sidestep. ATC gave us present heading and asked what speed we were assigned. I responded 0.78M or less. Once we were clear; I called the Flight Attendants to ask if everyone in the back was okay; and they reported back that there were no issues. The seat belt sign had been on prior to and during the entirety of the event. I then explained to the passengers what had happened. The next Controller kept us on the heading for about 10 minutes; and then direct AEX. We had no further issues during the flight.I do not know the cause of the wake. It could have been a spacing issue due to being previously assigned 0.78M; less or the A320 ahead slowed; weather or task saturation of ATC; but if I were to see the situation happening again; I would slow earlier if possible and communicate with ATC to mitigate the risk of wake turbulence.
Second reporter narrative
We encountered wake turbulence at FL340 while direct JAARE; about 15 NM Northeast of JAARE. At the time; we were on with Atlanta Center. I was Pilot Flying and the Captain was the PM (Pilot Monitoring). The previous Controller had assigned us 0.78M or less for spacing. We were in FMS speeds at 0.78M in smooth air. We switched to Atlanta Center; on TCAS and with visual identification; we saw a 737 at 1;000 ft. above; fly directly over us. We received no prior ATC notification of a traffic alert. A few minutes later; we encountered wake turbulence. Immediately; the Captain said to reduce to 0.76 and to offset our current path to the right. We were rocked three times and at one point saw 20 degrees of bank before we were able to get out of the wake. As I was correcting our heading to the right; the Captain was talking to ATC about the wake turbulence we encountered and at the same time notifying the FA's (Flight Attendant) to take their seats. ATC directed us to sidestep 2 miles to the right and informed us that there was an A320 ahead at FL360 on the same route. Due the wake and the heading we were already on; the Captain requested a heading instead of sidestep. ATC gave us present heading and asked what speed we were assigned. The Captain responded 0.78M or less. Once we were clear; the Captain called the Flight Attendants to ask if everyone in the back was okay; and they reported back that there were no issues. The seat-belt sign had been on prior to and during the entirety of the event. The Captain then explained to the passengers what had happened while also communicating with Dispatch through the ACARS. The next Controller kept us on the heading for about 10 minutes; and then direct AEX. We had no further issues during the flight.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.