Boeing 737-824 accident near Pharisburg, Ohio, August 19, 2022
On August 19, 2022 at about 7:17 pm local time, a 2001 Boeing 737-824, registered N73270, was involved in an accident during enroute (descent) near Pharisburg, Ohio. It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 169 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The airplane’s 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
- August 19, 2022 · about 7:17 pm local time
- Place
- Pharisburg, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 169 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-824, built 2001 · all 737-824s on the register
- Registration
- N73270 · registry record · serial 31632
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
United Airlines flight 1400 encountered turbulence near Pharisburg, Ohio during descent into John Glenn Columbus International Airport (KCMH), Columbus, Ohio. One flight attendant was injured during the turbulence encounter. The airplane was not damaged. The captain was the pilot flying, and the first officer was the pilot monitoring. According to the flight crew, the flight experienced turbulence during the climb out, and areas of moderate to light chop during the first half of the flight, and it then encountered smooth air. The remainder of the cruise portion of the flight was uneventful. The flight crew began the final descent utilizing an RNAV arrival. According to the flight crew, weather conditions for the arrival were visual flight rules (VFR), no pilot reports (PIREPS) of turbulence were relayed to the flight crew by air traffic control (ATC), and no turbulence was forecasted for the arrival in the flight release weather information. The flight crew stated that during the approach, when the flight was at an altitude of about 12,000 ft-msl, they observed a scattered cloud layer with tops at around 10,000 ft-msl and could see the airport through the scattered layer. The flight crew stated they contacted the flight attendants early at around 11,000 ft-msl for final cabin checks and illuminated the seatbelt sign, since they anticipated the potential for some chop at the cloud tops during the descent. When the flight leveled at 10,000 ft-msl in the cloud tops, it encountered two strong jolts of moderate turbulence within seconds of each other. The autopilot system did not disconnect during the encounter. The flight crew stated the duration from the initial bump, followed by the second bump, then exiting the clouds entirely was approximately 8 seconds, and the flight crew requested a lower altitude to exit the turbulence. During this descent from 10,000 ft msl, the flight crew received an interphone call from the purser, stating that a flight attendant at the rear of the cabin was injured and that two medical personnel onboard were assisting. The first officer made a PIREP to ATC regarding the turbulence, then coordinated with the airport operations and control tower to ensure that an ambulance would meet the flight at their arrival gate. The flight landed uneventfully, and the flight attendant was later 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
- Turbulence encounter during enroute (descent) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › Convective turbulence › Effect on personnel
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › Convective turbulence › Awareness of condition
- Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Knowledge › Knowledge of meteorologic cond › Flight crew
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, flight engineer, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 37,244 hours in all; 20,340 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 170 in the last 30 days; 15,227 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 31, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,200 hours in all; 1,720 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 1,400 as pilot in command; 400 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 22, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Seats: 149
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: Cfm Intl. CFM56 SERIES (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm Intl. CFM56 SERIES (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: United Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: KDEN Denver CO at 5:03 pm
- Destination: KCMH Columbus OH
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 3:15 pm from KCMH, 28 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | 5 | ||
| Passengers | 164 |
Other NTSB records under N73270 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 DCA22LA188.