Airbus A319 115 accident near Great Falls, Montana, December 10, 2015
On December 10, 2015 at about 7:53 pm local time, a 2013 Airbus A319 115, registered N3014R, was involved in an accident during enroute (descent) near Great Falls, Montana. It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 5 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
an encounter with turbulence during initial descent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 10, 2015 · about 7:53 pm local time
- Place
- Great Falls, Montana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 5 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Airbus A319 115 115, built 2013 · all A319 115s on the register
- Registration
- N3014R · registry record · serial 5842
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On December 10, 2015 at 1353 mountain standard time, American Airlines flight 1428, an Airbus 319, N3014R, encountered turbulence while enroute from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada airport (YEG). The flight was planned for flight level (FL) 320. The crew stated that there was light chop for most of the flight and the seat belt sign was on the entire flight. ATC advised the flight crew that the ride above FL350 was better. The flight crew requested FL360. Initially the flight was smoother but then they encountered light chop again and requested to return to FL320. The captain instructed the flight attendants (FA) to secure the galleys due to expected turbulence on descent into YEG. During this time, the flight encounter light chop turbulence and FA #2 fell when attempting to return to her jumpseat, resulting in a broken tibia. Emergency medical trained passengers assisted with splinting the FA's leg and she was assisted into the last row of seats. The captain decided to continue to YEG after consulting with Americans on call physician. There were no other injuries and no damage to the airplane.
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
What happened, in order
- Turbulence encounter during enroute (descent) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › (general) › Effect on personnel
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,295 hours in all; 346 in this make and model; 9,279 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,709 hours in all; 1,219 in this make and model
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 166,449 lb
- Seats: 136
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Cfm Intl CFM56-5B6; 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm Intl CFM56-5B6; 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines INC
The flight
- Departed from: DFW Dallas-Fort Worth TX at 4:36 pm
- Destination: CYEG Edmonton
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 1 | 3 | ||
| Flig | 2 |
Other NTSB records under N3014R the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DCA16CA030.