Boeing 767-332ER accident near Portland, Oregon, November 4, 2000
On November 4, 2000 at about 7:15 pm local time, a Boeing 767-332ER, registered N173DZ, was involved in an accident near Portland, Oregon. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 180 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An inflight encounter with turbulence that occurred before flight attendants could finish stowing a beverage cart and return to their seats.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 4, 2000 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Portland, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 180 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 767-332ER · all 767-332ERs on the register
- Registration
- N173DZ · registry record · serial 29692
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
About five to 10 minutes after the flight attendants began cabin service, the aircraft entered an area of light to moderate turbulence. The flight crew directed the flight attendants to discontinue cabin service and take their seats, and initiated a descent to an altitude where the air was reported smooth. The flight attendants were in the process of attempting to stow a beverage cart in the aft galley when the aircraft encountered turbulence that momentarily subjected the aircraft to negative G forces. The unseated flight attendants were thrown up off the floor in this encounter, with at least one flight attendant striking her head on the ceiling. The unsecured beverage cart landed on top of this flight attendant's foot, fracturing bones in her foot. Three other flight attendants received minor injuries. The flight crew reported that this encounter occurred in the descent just above flight level (FL) 330, about 90 miles east of the Kimberly, Oregon (IMB) VORTAC. Upon being notified of this situation, the flight crew initiated actions to deal with the situation, and continued on to the flight's destination with the remainder of the flight proceeding uneventfully.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 5,400 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,911 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, October 30, 2000; 153 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 407,000 lb
- Seats: 265
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-80C2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SLC Salt Lake City UT at 6:05 pm
- Destination: PDX OR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 143° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 131°F (55°C), dew point 93°F (34°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from ONO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Passengers | 176 |
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 N173DZ 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 SEA01LA014.