EMB-175 First Officer reported encountering wake turbulence shortly after takeoff from CLT in trail of an A321.

Date: 2025-04 · Aircraft: EMB ERJ 170/175 ER/LR

Anomalies: inflight-event-encounter-wake-vortex-encounter

Synopsis

EMB-175 First Officer reported encountering wake turbulence shortly after takeoff from CLT in trail of an A321.

Narrative

Wake turbulence encounter departing CLT Runway 36C.We were third in line to depart 36C; behind a Aircraft Y and then an A321. The CA was the PF. Shortly after acceleration altitude and as we were handed over from Tower to Departure; with the PF still hand-flying the heading segment of the DP (Departure Procedure); we encountered strong rolling and bumpy turbulence. We both immediately recognized the turbulence as wake. The PF required considerable and frequent control inputs to keep the aircraft under control; but it was not my impression that full inputs were required at any point. It was both of our opinion that; if the autopilot had been engaged at the start of the encounter; the strength of the wake turbulence would have caused the autopilot to disengage.I notified Departure of the wake turbulence encounter upon check-in; to which they asked for additional information. I described the forcefulness and required actions to counter it; and mentioned that we had no reason to believe there were any injuries or damage.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.