Investigation Summary
On July 23, 2018, Delta Air Lines flight 1488 was operating a scheduled domestic passenger service from Minneapolis to Miami. While en route, the flight crew began deviating to avoid weather systems and was subsequently instructed by air traffic control to enter a holding pattern. The crew reported that the sky appeared clear at the time they accepted the hold. However, while established in the holding pattern at approximately 15:31 local time, the aircraft encountered moderate convective turbulence. The sudden movement caused two occupants to strike their heads, resulting in one serious injury to a passenger and a minor injury to a flight attendant. The aircraft itself sustained no damage. Following the encounter, the crew elected to divert to Fort Myers (RSW) to ensure the injured individuals received medical attention.
Final Conclusions
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of the accident to be an inadvertent encounter with convective turbulence. The investigation was concluded with the publication of the Final Report on June 8, 2021.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
54-year-old male holding an Airline Transport certificate.
First Officer
37-year-old male.
Systems & Failure Modes
Weather Radar
Used by the crew to detect and deviate from convective activity; the crew noted clear conditions upon entering the hold despite the subsequent encounter.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was an Airbus A319-114 manufactured in 2001.
- 02The captain had 13,806 total flight hours, with 11,912 hours of experience on the Airbus A319/A320 type.
- 03The encounter occurred while the aircraft was in a holding pattern due to weather deviations.
- 04One passenger was seriously injured and one flight attendant sustained minor injuries.
- 05The aircraft sustained no structural or mechanical damage during the event.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Airline Internal Review
Source ↗Following the incident, Delta Air Lines conducted an internal review of the weather encounter. The flight crew followed standard procedures to divert to the nearest suitable airport (RSW) to ensure the injured passenger and flight attendant received medical attention.
Location
NO VERIFIED COORDINATES · This position predates coordinate provenance tracking. Treat it as an approximate marker for the area, not the accident site. No map is shown, because a marker here would imply a precision the record does not have.
Reported location: West Palm Beach, Florida