Boeing 737-300 accident near Sacramento, California, December 14, 1998
On December 14, 1998 at about 2:40 am local time, a Boeing 737-300, registered N328AW, was involved in an accident near Sacramento, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured; 74 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the second and third flight attendants to comply with instructions to remain seated in anticipation of turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 14, 1998 · about 2:40 am local time
- Place
- Sacramento, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 74 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-300 · all 737-300s on the register
- Registration
- N328AW · registry record · serial 23377
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Prior to descent from cruise, the cockpit crew advised the second flight attendant, who was later injured, and the third flight attendant by intercom that turbulence was anticipated during descent for landing and for them to secure the cabin and be seated. The second attendant notified the first attendant who directed her attention toward securing first class. The second flight attendant proceeded through the cabin from front to rear, with a trash bag, picking up service items and ensuring that passenger's seat belts were fastened. As she reached the rear of the cabin, turbulence was encountered and both she and the third flight attendant, who was working in the rear galley, took their seats and fastened their seat belts. After 1 or 2 minutes of moderate turbulence, the turbulence ceased and the second and third flight attendants got up to finish their work in the aft galley. Additional turbulence was then encountered which caused the second flight attendant to fall to the floor of the galley. The third flight attendant also fell but landed on the foot of the second attendant, which broke the second attendant's ankle. The fight data recorder output showed that, at one point in the descent, vertical acceleration values varied from 0.65 g's to 2.02 g's over a 1-second period.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,000 hours in all; 135 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 41,558 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 14, 1998; 1,098 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 139,000 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CFM56-3B2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: America West Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SNA Santa Ana CA at 1:50 am
- Destination: SMF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 am from SMF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 4 | ||
| Passengers | 70 |
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.