NBC Connecticut Investigates discovered some new information about a bumpy Avelo Airlines flight earlier this year that left three flight attendants hurt.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said severe turbulence was to blame.
Our team obtained a report on this from the FAA via a freedom of information request.
The FAA’s air traffic mandatory occurrence report said three flight attendants sustained minor injuries on an Avelo flight to Fort Myers on May 20 after the aircraft plunged 300 feet and the flight crew reported the Boeing 737 went into an “uncommanded 45-degree roll.”
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We asked aviation expert Kit Darby, who spent seven years as a captain on Boeing 737s, to explain what an uncommanded 45-degree roll is.
"The uncommanded part here means that the pilots didn't tell the airplane to do that the airplane sort of did it on its own as a result of some outside force," Darby said. "So it really boils down to how fast it would roll, whether it would be scary or not. Forty-five degrees done smoothly, you probably would hardly notice 45 degrees -- done quickly, [it] would be surprising.”
The FAA said the crew from the Avelo plane went into an uncommanded 45-degree roll due to what the crew reported was wake turbulence caused by another plane 11 to 15 miles ahead of it.
Just as passing boats leave a wake through water, aircraft leave an almost invisible trail of disturbed air behind them.
Still, Darby said he has his doubts.
“The wake turbulence usually only goes down about 900 feet, and it dissipates relatively quickly. So where it's theoretically possible, it is unlikely," Darby said. "Like I said, never happened in my lifetime.”
Due to the flight attendants’ injuries, a medical emergency was declared, and the plane made an emergency landing in Orlando, later completing its trip to Fort Myers.
The senior director of public affairs from Orlando’s airport told us “…emergency personnel from Orlando International Airport transferred three people from diverted Avelo flight 357 to a local hospital.”
Avelo had previously said “The flight diverted to Orlando International Airport where the three crewmembers were evaluated and released by paramedics.”
An Avelo spokesman had no further comment, except to applaud the way the pilot and crew handled the situation.
We also reached out to the flight attendants’ union and have not heard back.
