Mcdonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 incident near Thermal, California, December 30, 1982
On December 30, 1982 at about 10:58 pm local time, a Mcdonnell-Douglas DC-10-30, registered N137AA, was involved in an incident near Thermal, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 14 people had minor injuries; 203 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 30, 1982 · about 10:58 pm local time
- Place
- Thermal, California · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 14 people had minor injuries; 203 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell-Douglas DC-10-30
- Registration
- N137AA · registry record · serial 47847
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT ABOUT 1458 PST, THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED MODERATE TO SEVERE CLEAR AIR TURBULENCE FOR A PERIOD OF 8 TO 10 SECONDS WHILE CLIMBING THROUGH 35,500 FT. SEVEN PASSENGERS AND SEVEN FLIGHT ATTENDANTS RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THE SEAT BELT SIGN HAD BEEN TURNED ON BEFORE TAKEOFF AND HAD REMAINED ON THROUGHOUT THE ENCOUNTER. OF THE PASSENGER WHO WERE INJURED, FOUR STATED THEIR SEAT BELTS WERE OFF, TWO STATED THEIR BELTS WERE LOOSE AND ONE HAD DISREGARDED THE SIGN AND WAS IN THE LAVATORY. THE INJURED FLIGHT ATTENDANTS WERE PREPARING FOR CABIN SERVICE AND WERE NOT RESTRAINED. A REVIEW OF THE AIRLINE'S COMPUTER GENERATED FLIGHT PLAN DATA REVEALED THAT THE MAXIMUM GENERATED TURBULENCE INDEX PREDICTED WAS LIGHT. THERE WAS A CAT SIGMET, VALID FOR THE PERIOD, WHICH REPORTED MODERATE TURBULENCE AT FLIGHT LEVEL 360 TO 370 OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN THE HECTOR-THERMAL AREA.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 24,800 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 565,000 lb
- Seats: 244
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF-6-50C (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: Los Angeles CA at 2:40 pm
- Destination: DFW Dallas/Ft Worth TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 90 knots
- Visibility: 35 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:58 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | 6 | ||
| Passengers | 7 | 197 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N137AA 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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 FTW83IA072.