B787 Captain and First Officer reported encountering wake turbulence 25 miles in trail of an A330 in cruise flight at FL360 that resulted in a minor Flight Attendant injury.
Synopsis
B787 Captain and First Officer reported encountering wake turbulence 25 miles in trail of an A330 in cruise flight at FL360 that resulted in a minor Flight Attendant injury.
Narrative
Level in cruise approximately 25 NM behind another plane on a similar routing. We crossed under his contrail at an oblique angle and encountered what we believe was their wake. Moderate bump initially and light to moderate bumps for roughly 5 seconds after. At the first bump we made a PA to the Flight Attendants to be seated immediately. The encounter ended right after the PA. We waited a couple of minutes to be sure we were clear and had the flight attendants return to their jumpseats and check in. At the check in it was reported to me that all were fine.The next day; while walking to the airplane after the layover; I was approached by one of our Flight Attendants. The Flight Attendant related to me that he had injured his shoulder while holding on in the galley. He didn't tell anyone about this the day of the flight. I asked if he was ok and was able to work the flight back and he said yes; he was fine. He said it was possibly related to another injury he has from repetitive motion pouring coffee and that he was really fine. He said he would likely write an injury report of this; for later documentation; so I am writing this report. I talked with the Purser about the encounter and the Purser said it had not been mentioned.
Second reporter narrative
While at cruise; we unexpectedly encountered wake turbulence from an A330 that had crossed our path 1000 ft. above and roughly 10 miles in front of us. The Captain immediately turned the seatbelt sign on and informed the Flight Attendants (FA) to take their jumpseats immediately. The turbulence lasted about 20 seconds. There were no reports of injuries when the FAs checked in afterwards or the remainder of the flight. The first indication I had that a FA had been injured was the next day when he told the Captain.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.