Accident Boeing 747-146 JA8101, Wednesday 11 September 1985
ASN logo
 

Date:Wednesday 11 September 1985
Time:02:42
Type:Silhouette image of generic B741 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Boeing 747-146
Owner/operator:Japan Air Lines
Registration: JA8101
MSN: 19725/31
Year of manufacture:1970
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 353
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage: None
Category:Accident
Location:565 km WNW of Midway -   Pacific Ocean
Phase: En route
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:Tokyo-Narita Airport (NRT/RJAA)
Destination airport:Honolulu International Airport, HI (HNL)
Investigating agency: JTSB
Confidence Rating: Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities
Narrative:
While cruising at FL350, the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. Two pax were seriously injured, and 45 pax and 4 cabin crew were slightly injured. The "fasten seat belt" sign had not been turned on.
DGDR analysis revealed that the aircraft encountered turbulence causing plus 2.04 g to minus 0.30 g of about 8 sec duration. The aircraft climbed about 220 ft then descended about 320 ft.

Cause: The cause of this accident is that while the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet, it suddenly encountered turbulence related to a cumulonimbus cloud that was 20 to 30 nautical miles to the left, or turbulence caused by an ongoing cumulonimbus cloud that could not be detected by radar.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: JTSB
Report number: 
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

ICAO

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
04-Oct-2024 12:00 ASN Added
04-Oct-2024 14:21 ASN Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2025 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org