Boeing 747-422 incident near Port Heiden, Alaska, December 12, 2000
On December 12, 2000 at about 8:21 pm local time, a Boeing 747-422, registered N119UA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Port Heiden, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 4 people had minor injuries; 386 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An encounter with severe turbulence while in cruise flight. Factors in the incident were a delay in notification of the turbulence, and the lack of controller/pilot data link communications in the Anchorage ARTCC area.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 12, 2000 · about 8:21 pm local time
- Place
- Port Heiden, Alaska · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 4 people had minor injuries; 386 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-422 · all 747-422s on the register
- Registration
- N119UA · no longer on the register · serial 28812
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A Boeing B-747 airplane departed San Francisco for Hong Kong. Prior to departure, no significant meteorological notices or forecasts for turbulence were issued for the area of the Alaska Peninsula, over which the flight would progress. The airplane was initially in radio and data link communications with Oakland ARTCC, then ARINC, and finally with Anchorage ARTCC. A PIREP at 1432 for moderate turbulence, and an Urgent PIREP at 1600 of severe turbulence, were recorded in the area of incident by Anchorage ARTCC. As the flight entered the Alaska ARTCC area, a delay in establishing communications with the airplane also delayed the transmission of the urgent PIREP concerning turbulence in the area of the flight. The crew noticed rolling clouds ahead of the airplane and advised the cabin flight attendants to be seated. At 1620, while in cruise flight at 31,000 feet, the airplane encountered moderate to severe turbulence. About 5 seconds after the notification to sit down, three cabin attendants were thrown to the floor of the airplane. The captain diverted the flight to Anchorage. Upon arrival at Anchorage, a belly mounted fuselage panel enclosing an air conditioning unit, was missing. Airplanes conducting oceanic flights are equipped with ACARS, over which flight crews can receive ATC clearances and weather data utilizing controller/pilot data link communications (CPDLC). The Anchorage ARTCC was not utilizing CPDLC because their software is not user friendly, requires substantial controller input for free text messaging, and is not as fast as voice communications. Hazardous inflight weather advisories are reviewed by each center weather coordinator, in conjunction with the National Weather Service for dissemination to pilots. The FAA does not a direct mechanism to alert air crews of significant weather in one sector, occurring in another sector, nor does the FAA have a mechanism to coordinate CPDLC data from an ARTCC sector to ARINC. A SIGMET for occasional turbulence was issued by the National Weather Service at 1619.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,453 hours in all; 1,350 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,949 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 20, 2000; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 878,000 lb
- Seats: 368
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW4066 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KSFO San Francisco CA at 4:37 pm
- Destination: VHHH Hong Kong OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 145° at 60 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: -65°F (-54°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | 19 | ||
| Passengers | 1 | 367 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N119UA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.