B737 MAX flight crew reported encountering wake turbulence during the initial descent into TPA that led to an aircraft upset event.
Synopsis
B737 MAX flight crew reported encountering wake turbulence during the initial descent into TPA that led to an aircraft upset event.
Narrative
While on descent into Tampa at approximately 27;000 we received borderline severe wake turbulence. At the time of the event I was PM and checking into a new controller when the yoke mic button was ripped from my hand. The words 'roll' were observed on the Primary Flight Display (PFD) and the airplane made 2 or 3 small roll motions before one larger. I did not see the max bank angle reached. As the larger roll was felt I stopped what I was doing and immediately flipped on the seatbelt sign and used the hand mic to give the FAs a 'be seated immediately' command. During this the FO had turned off the autoflight systems and returned the airplane to level flight. ATC called back and had me re-verify the last instructions as I stopped responding midway with the mic switch being ripped from my hand. I informed him of the situation and checked on the FAs using the intercom to verify they were ok. At this time they informed me of no injuries and they were all sitting at the time of the rocking. They also stated no passengers were up. After the event while talking to the FO he stated the airplane went into the upset logic where the screens provide an arrow to indicate the correct recovery roll. I did not see this as the entire event was under 3 seconds.
Second reporter narrative
During initial descent into TPA we encountered wake turbulence resulting in an aircraft upset event. I was the pilot flying and the Captain was pilot monitoring. We'd been assigned to cross 10 miles north of LEGGT at FL280 and had just begun our descent to comply with the restriction. The Captain was in the process of checking in with the next ATC Center when we started experiencing light chop which progressed to light turbulence and the aircraft started rapidly rolling to the left. I noticed the MAX upset recovery logic started displaying on the attitude indicator showing an arrow and the direction to turn to get back to wings level. This was also accompanied by an aural 'roll authority' which sounded at least 3 - 4 times. I quickly disconnected the autopilot and autothrottle and initiated the upset recovery maneuver by assessing if a push was required; rolled wings level; and adjusted power to maintain the airspeed we were at during the descent. The Captain quickly turned the seatbelt sign on; made a PA for the flight attendants to be seated immediately and we both crosschecked to ensure the aircraft was back in a safe position. The Captain informed ATC that we had experienced a wake turbulence event and that we would be returning to our assigned clearance at this time. ATC queried if we had any aircraft damage or injuries which we responded with negative. They also informed us that there was traffic descending ahead which may have explained the wake turbulence we encountered. I remained hand-flying the aircraft until we leveled at FL280 where I reengaged the autopilot and autothrottle before discussing the next course of action with the Captain. We referenced the manual to try and identify how to best write it up so Maintenance could inspect the aircraft appropriately. The rest of the flight continued uneventfully.
NASA callback
Reporter stated conditions were conducive to wake effects staying in the flight path as the flight crew descended.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.