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Accident to the Airbus A350 registered F-HNET operated by Air Caraïbes on 05/12/2021 on approach to Cayenne-Felix Eboue AD

Turbulences en descente, blessure grave d'un PNC

Responsible entity

France - BEA

Investigation progression Closed
Progress: 100%

During the flight, and in particular, the minutes preceding the accident, the pilots had effectively identified the risk of turbulence and had complied with the appropriate procedures by asking all the occupants, including the cabin crew, to remain seated with their seatbelts fastened which meant that possible injuries were avoided. The first zones of turbulence were flown through without incident.

On flying through FL 100, outside of clouds and thinking that the turbulence was behind them, the captain authorised the cabin crew at the rear of the cabin to finish preparing the cabin for landing.

A few minutes later, a sudden brief turbulence caused accelerations which resulted in the purser losing balance and sustaining serious injuries and in two cabin crew sustaining injuries. This zone of turbulence was probably generated by a convective cell close by. The crew may not have been able to detect or may have underestimated the distance or extent of the zone of influence of this cell.