Embraer EMB145 accident near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 15, 2019
On December 15, 2019 at about 11:27 am local time, a 2000 Embraer EMB145, registered N648AE, was involved in an accident near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 40 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inadvertent encounter with convective turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 15, 2019 · about 11:27 am local time
- Place
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 40 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Embraer EMB145 LR, built 2000 · all EMB145s on the register
- Registration
- N648AE · registry record · serial 145225
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On December 15, 2019, about 0627 eastern standard time, Piedmont Airlines flight 4797, an Embraer EMB-145LR, N648AE, encountered turbulence while on approach to land at Philadelphia International Airport (KPHL), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of the 38 passengers and 3 crew members onboard, the flight attendant was seriously injured. The airplane was not damaged. The regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 from Columbia Metropolitan Airport (KCAE), Columbia, South Carolina. The captain was the pilot flying, and the first officer was monitoring. As the flight approached KPHL, the first officer made a public address announcement to the flight attendant to prepare the cabin for arrival. While descending through about 10,000 feet for the visual approach to runway 35, the crew noted a cloud layer below them and, in order to transit the cloud layer quickly, the captain increased the descent from about 1,000 feet per minute (fpm) to about 1,300 fpm. When the airplane entered the cloud layer at about 7, 00 feet, it encountered moderate turbulence along with icing conditions. The captain stated that to prevent an overspeed and mitigate turbulence effects, he immediately reduced the thrust to idle and inadvertently pressed the autopilot disconnect button instead of the Touch Control Steering (TCS) button, which he had intended to activate in order to manually raise the airplanes nose. He stated he maintained control of the airplane, eased the nose up to level flight, and immediately reengaged the autopilot. The crew stated the turbulence lasted about 25 to 30 seconds. At the time of the turbulence encounter, the flight attendant (FA) was in the aisle conducting her before landing compliance checks. She was at the rear of the cabin turning around when she was thrown to the floor, injuring her ankle. Medically qualified passengers assisted the FA with the injury and another passenger manned the FA’s jumpseat during landing. Emergency medical personnel met the airplane at the gate and transported the FA to the local hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured ankle.
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
- 500360 during standing
The NTSB's findings
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › Convective turbulence › Effect on personnel
Pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land, none, APLN, none
- Flight time: 2,899 hours in all; 1,383 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: class 1
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land
- Flight time: 2,402 hours in all; 758 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: class 1
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Allison AE 3007A; 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Allison AE 3007A; 0 hours total
- Operator: Piedmont Airlines
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: KCAE Columbia SC at 10:00 am
- Destination: KPHL Philadelphia PA
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 240° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 19,000 ft
- Temperature: 43°C, dew point 34°C
- Altimeter: 29.73 inHg
- Observation at 10:54 am from KPHL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 1 | |||
| Flig | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 38 |
Other NTSB records under N648AE 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 DCA20CA040.