Boeing 737 accident near East Palestine, Ohio, July 24, 2023
On July 24, 2023 at about 7:30 pm local time, a 2007 Boeing 737, registered N279WN, was involved in an accident near East Palestine, Ohio. It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 149 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 inadvertent encounter with convectively induced turbulence (CIT) during descent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 24, 2023 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- East Palestine, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 149 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737 7H4, built 2007 · all 737s on the register
- Registration
- N279WN · registry record · serial 32532
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Southwest Airlines flight 1118 encountered moderate turbulence while descending through 12,000 ft for landing at Pittsburg International Airport (PIT) Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and a flight attendant fractured her wrist. The flight crew reported that while descending on the JESEY4 RNAV arrival into PIT they observed low cumulus clouds with tops at about 14,000 ft. The captain notified the flight attendants to take their seats due to the possibility of turbulence. As they descended through the cloud layer at about 12,000 ft the flight encountered an area of moderate turbulence for about 20-30 seconds. After receiving the notification from the captain to take their seats. The “B” and “C” position flight attendants (FAs) moved to their respective jumpseats and were attempting to fasten their safety harnesses when the turbulence event occurred. The “B” position FA was thrown into the air and impacted the jump seat. The “C” position FA was thrown into the air and impacted the aft lavatory fracturing her wrist. She described the turbulence as “like nothing I have ever felt almost like something hit the back of the airplane.” The flight crew stated that they were not notified of the injury until after the plane had landed and they were walking to their accommodations. At the time of the turbulence encounter there were no active significant meteorological information (SIGMETs), convective SIGMETs, airman’s meteorological information (AIRMETs), center weather advisories (CWAs), or pilot reports (PIREPs) of any significant turbulence other than occasional light turbulence/chop over the area. Eddy dissipation rate (EDR) is a universal measure of turbulence rate. Recorded data from the airplane revealed that about 1929 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or 1529 local, at an altitude of about 9,970 ft the EDR indicated 0.40 which equates to moderate turbulence. According to the flight crew, neither the clouds nor the turbulence were depicted on their Weather Services International (WSI) Pilotbrief weather application or displayed on their airplane weather radar.
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
- 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
- Ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, AME, ASE, APLN, none
- Flight time: 20,328 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days; 10,600 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 23, 2022
- Medical certificate: class 1
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land, AME, IAIR, IHEL, APLN, helicopter, helicopter
- Flight time: 12,600 hours in all; 2,755 in this make and model; 188 in the last 90 days; 91 in the last 30 days; 7,221 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 2, 2023
- Medical certificate: class 1
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 53,731 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, July 23, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 155,000 lb
- Seats: 140
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 3: Cfm Intl CFM56-7B24 (turbofan); 55,509 hours total
- Engine 4: Cfm Intl CFM56-7B24 (turbofan); 73,246 hours total
- Operator: Southwest Airlines CO
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: MDW Chicago IL at 6:43 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scattered at 4,600 ft
- Temperature: 82°C, dew point 59°C
- Altimeter: 30.059999 inHg
- Observation at 2:51 pm from KPIT, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KPIT 241851Z 27010KT 10SM SCT046 SCT250 28/15 A3006 RMK AO2 SLP178 T02830150
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | 4 | ||
| Passengers | 145 |
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 DCA23LA383.