2024-01 · NASA ASRS report 2072277
B737-800 flight crew reported loss of aircraft control due to severe turbulence. After the Captain regained aircraft control the flight continued to destination with no injuries reported.
I was First Officer and Pilot Monitoring on Flight ABCD along with Captain from ZZZ to ZZZ1 when we experienced severe turbulence; momentary loss of aircraft control; and an overspeed due to the turbulence. I started this day in ZZZ4 and deadheaded to ZZZ on Flight XXXX. I arrived at ZZZ at (local time) and I proceeded to the gate to prepare for our trip to ZZZ1 . The Operations Agent informed me that the Captain was en route on another flight that was supposed to arrive around our scheduled departure time of (time). I prepped the aircraft for the flight; as best as I could; and discussed with the Flight Attendants the flight time and weather conditions. I informed them that the first half of the flight was forecast to have light turbulence; but that the second half was likely to be turbulent due to a winter storm pushing through the area. We loaded XX Passengers on this flight.The Captain arrived at approximately (time). After he briefed the Flight Attendants; we briefed the flight and ran our flows and checklist; pushing back from the gate at about (time). We departed ZZZ at (time). Our route of flight was a departure off of Runway XX; then the ZZZZZ Departure...ZZZZZ...ZZZZZ1.ZZZZZ2. The departure and climb to FL400 were uneventful with just light turbulence. At ATC's request we were cleared to FL410 with our approval. Captain contacted the Flight Attendants shortly after departure and informed them that they could serve the cabin; and we turned off the Seatbelt Sign; as well; later when the Flight Attendants had time to serve our XX passengers. I made a PA asking the Passengers to keep their Seatbelts fastened while in their seats. Captain; after reviewing the route of flight on his iPad; stated to me that he wanted everyone seated in the cabin by the time we reached ZZZZZ intersection. He marked ZZZZZ on the FIX page as a reminder.We made several requests to ATC and were granted some short cuts along our route to avoid some buildup below us on radar. As we approached ZZZZZ; our ride began to deteriorate; and the Captain turned the Seatbelt Sign back on and informed the Cabin Crew to complete their service and take their seats. We noticed on radar some moderate to severe precipitation returns to our northwest that were below our cruising altitude; but we were downwind of; so as a precaution; the Captain began slowing the aircraft from Mach .78 to .76. We began to hear multiple reports from aircraft ahead of us of moderate turbulence; but the ATC controller didn't seem to have suggestions for altitudes or routes. Then ATC cleared us to cross 70 miles south of ZZZZZ1 at FL300. The Captain entered that into the FMC and stated that he would start the descent early since we had a very strong tailwind. As we started our descent; we began to encounter moderate turbulence.I reported the moderate turbulence to ATC. At FL35.5 we suddenly were hit with severe turbulence. The turbulence caused the autopilot to disengage; and the aircraft began descending and picking up airspeed rapidly. Our airspeed quickly shot above MMO to approximately Mach .82 and the clacker sounded. We were bumped around in the flight deck violently; but the Captain began hand flying the aircraft. He retarded the power levers and deployed the flight spoilers. I selected the Vertical Speed mode on the MCP and rolled the vertical speed back to about 500 FPM. It was difficult to see the flight instruments and to make control inputs due to the level of turbulence. The severe turbulence continued in the descent until we reached FL320; and it began to lighten up. At the Captain's request; I informed ATC of the severe turbulence and the applicable altitudes. After we were stabilized; the Captain contacted the Flight Attendants to see if everyone was alright in the cabin. The Flight Attendants stated that no one was injured and that everyone was properly seated and fastened during the episode. Captain also made a Maintenance report via ACARS about the overspeed.Dispatch sent us an ACARs message asking for the location of the turbulence and asking if we had any injuries. I relayed this information back to Dispatch and informed them that we had no reported injuries on board. We continued our flight relatively uneventfully with pockets of light to some moderate turbulence on the arrival into ZZZ1. We completed an ILS approach into Runway XY at ZZZ1; landed at approximately (time); and pulled into our arrival Gate at (time). Captain and I completed our post-flight procedures and terminated the flight. The Captain immediately contacted Dispatch by telephone to make the proper logbook entries. Looking back on the events of this flight; I must commend Captain for doing such a fantastic job of handling this situation. He came into the flight having already worked through a stressful day flying from another location. Despite being late to the flight; he didn't rush getting ready for our trip and he was well aware of the weather that we faced. He made an excellent call in seating everyone prior to ZZZZZ; in slowing the aircraft down in anticipation of turbulence and in handling the momentary loss of control and overspeed on the aircraft. I do not know what we could have done to avoid this situation as many aircraft were reporting moderate turbulence at different flight levels and different areas. My takeaway from this is to appreciate getting to fly with some of the best Pilots in the industry; like my Captain; that got our Passengers to their destinations safely in such difficult situations; and who have the foresight to see potential issues like this one.Due to scheduling issues; the Captain arrived late to take command of Flight XXXX. I believe this caused me to feel a bit rushed in completing the flight on time. So; I would suggest better Pilot Scheduling could drastically reduce Pilot workload and pressure.
I was the PF that was rerouted off an AM two- day. I should have been completed by XA00 but now was flying this reroute landing 4.5 hours later at ZZZ1. There were six unused PM reserves in ZZZ2 that were legal for this ZZZ to ZZZ1 leg (four of these were two-day reserves). I state this because I should not have even been on this flight due to poor Operational Scheduling and misuse/under-utilization of reserves. I am a line holder but was treated like an online reserve; switching from an AM reserve slot to a PM reserve slot. I knew there was weather on this leg; which is why I was glad my original trip had me on the ground before this front came to the area. This later re-route put me right in the middle of it. I called Dispatch prior to departure; inquiring about the rides. He stated 'There is no severe turbulence along your route. I will keep you apprised along your way.' There were several weather advisories for moderate; especially from State X onward below FL380. We only had XX Passengers onboard. I told the Flight Attendants to get the service done and cleaned up in the first 30 minutes of the flight; since the rest of the trip looked extremely bumpy. We were at FL410 for the cruise portion of the flight which was smooth. We had the Flight Attendants and Passengers all down by ZZZZZ intersection and the aircraft secure; north of ZZZ3. We deviated a couple times for cells at our altitude and we were given a shortcut to ZZZZZ1. Another aircraft ahead of us in the descent stated they were in moderate turbulence not moderate chop and were quite emphatic about it. We were then given a crossing of 70 miles south of ZZZZZ1 at FL300.The winds were 240/168 at FL410 there was rain painting below us but only green and yellow no red or magenta on the radar. I called the Flight Attendants again about three minutes prior to our descent; to make sure everyone was seated. I started an early descent with the excessive tailwind in order to make the crossing to prevent the nose pitching over at the end of the descent in the lower 30;000's like it normally does; causing an overspeed. Another aircraft ahead of us then reported severe turbulence. I slowed the aircraft to .76 Mach. At FL385 we had moderate turbulence. By FL355 we encountered severe turbulence; the autopilot kicked off; the instruments were very difficult to read; I pulled out the speedbrake and then the speed clacker started for about 5-10 seconds. We reported severe turbulence and given a heading of 050 and down to FL300 for other descending traffic. the winds were now 240/119. I checked on the Flight Attendants and they said everyone was okay. We made a report to Dispatch and ATC of severe turbulence with no injuries or aircraft damage and passed to the Manager of the overspeed. If the previous aircraft did not call out severe turbulence; we would have not been as prepared as we were. We landed uneventfully and I called Dispatch/Manager and wrote up the severe turbulence in the logbook. No one claimed injuries as they left the aircraft.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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