Boeing 737-3H4 accident near Lafayette, Louisiana, June 26, 1999
On June 26, 1999, a Boeing 737-3H4, registered N650SW, was involved in an accident near Lafayette, Louisiana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 141 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent flight into an adverse weather condition. A factor was the turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 26, 1999
- Place
- Lafayette, Louisiana
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 141 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-3H4 · all 737-3H4s on the register
- Registration
- N650SW · no longer on the register · serial 27720
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight encountered turbulence while at FL330. The destination airport was reporting thunderstorm activity near the airport. The fasten seat belt light had been turned on and the passengers briefed about the possibility of encountering turbulence during the approach. The airplane entered a stratus layer of clouds with a small cell approximately 20 miles to the left of the airplane's flight path. The captain reported that the airplane experienced a 'sudden jolt' followed by 10 to 12 seconds of light to occasionally moderate turbulence. The turbulence ceased once the airplane exited the clouds, with smooth air prevailing for the rest of the flight. A flight attendant in the aft cabin sustained a broken 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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all; 8,000 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 95 in the last 30 days; 9,200 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, June 24, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 130,000 lb
- Seats: 145
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cfm CFM-56 (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HOU Houston TX
- Destination: MSY New Orleans LA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 4 | ||
| Passengers | 137 |
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 N650SW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.