Boeing 757-223 accident near Gulf Of Mexico, August 23, 2000
On August 23, 2000 at about 7:57 pm local time, a Boeing 757-223, registered N657AM, suffered minor damage in an accident near Gulf Of Mexico. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 13 people had minor injuries; 54 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the flight crew's inadvertent encounter with convective turbulence while in cruise flight. A factor was the rapidly developing convective activity.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 23, 2000 · about 7:57 pm local time
- Place
- Gulf Of Mexico
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 13 people had minor injuries; 54 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757-223 · all 757-223s on the register
- Registration
- N657AM · no longer on the register · serial 24615
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During cruise flight at 37,000 feet over the Gulf of Mexico, the scheduled international passenger flight encountered severe turbulence after inadvertently penetrating rapidly developing convective formations. One of the flight attendants was seriously injured. When the turbulence encounter occurred, the flight crew was attempting to deviate around cloud formations. The flight crew reported that the seat belt sign was illuminated prior to the turbulence encounter and that the captain made an announcement to the passengers reminding them to remain seated with their seatbelts secured. It is unknown whether the flight attendant was seated or standing, or where she was positioned at the time of the event. Following the turbulence encounter, the flight diverted to a nearby airport and landed without further incident.
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 instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,137 hours in all; 4,106 in this make and model; 2,502 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 29,566 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 22, 2000; 18 hours since
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RB211 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DFW Dallas/Ft Worth TX at 8:43 pm
- Destination: SJU San Juan PR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 045° at 5 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: -76°F (-60°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
| Passengers | 9 | 51 |
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.
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.