Search

SkyWest flight 5971 hits severe turbulence over Texas

Share this article

SkyWest flight 5971, operating for United Airlines as United Express, was en route from Aspen to Houston when it encountered severe turbulence over Texas near Fort Worth. The flight safely diverted to Austin, Texas and was met at the gate by medical personnel.

SkyWest flight 5971 departed Aspen (ASE | KASE) at 23:02 UTC (17:02 local time) bound for Houston (IAH | KIAH). As the flight passed near Fort Worth at an altitude of 39,000 feet, around 00:27 UTC it encountered severe turbulence. ADS-B data from the flight shows a maximum barometric vertical rate of -11,456 feet per minute at 00:27:31 UTC. That rate is a calculated rate by the aircraft’s systems captured at a single moment in time, not a reflection of the total descent.

From 00:27:06 to 00:27:50, the flight descended from 39,000 feet to 34,650 feet before climbing back up to 37,450 feet by 00:28:50. After that point, the aircraft began a descent to land at Austin, squawking 7700 (the squawk code for general emergency) at 00:30:57 UTC.

The graph below shows the altitude and recorded vertical rate for the flight from 00:00 UTC through landing.

Aircraft information

SkyWest flight 5971 was operated by an Embraer E170-200LR, commonly known as the E175. The aircraft has operated with SkyWest since 2014 when it was delivered new to the airline.

Join the conversation

6 Responses

  1. When I was a young F/O on the 727 in 1969 we were ferrying from MIA to MSY and the Captain flying went through a cell at around 18,000 feet we lost about 4,000 feet then climbed to 20,000 and settled back around 18,000 and it all took place in about a minute. For the next 23 years of flying I never did it again.

  2. Great summary of a mid-air event. The FR24 tracking network is again shown to be OUTSTANDING in documenting AND reporting inflight events.
    David Byrnes (F-KS212 SOON to be back reporting near PDX).

  3. Does the fact that it was met at the gate by medical personnel have anything to do with, well, anything?

  4. Looks like poor piloting technique to me.
    Topping CB’s is not recommended when your paid by the minute.

  5. Did they gave advance warning of the flight weather?? I know conditions can change quickly in bad conditions

  6. Look obvious to go to RADAR school and learn to stay out of 40-50 dBz RADAR returns.
    Perhaps a good non-airline school would fit just right to get the skills and divert for 4 minutes around this extensive weather event. Another example, not interested in flying in any RJ.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

On The Radar Logo

Get the latest aviation news delivered to you

Get the latest aviation news delivered to you

Flight tracking and aviation industry news direct to your inbox

Aviation news comes quickly, so join more than 1.7 million others who receive weekly aviation industry and flight tracking news from Flightradar24 direct to their inbox.

Share this article

Latest threads

Latest video

1.1M
Embraer E190 cockpit: flying domestic in Mongolia

Most wanted airport receiver locations

We’re always looking for additional receiver hosts in areas that either lack coverage or need additional coverage. Help us grow the Flightradar24 ADS-B network.

Trending articles

On The Radar Logo
Get weekly updates on Flightradar24 and have the latest aviation news land in your inbox.
AvTalk Logo

AvTalk Episode 334: They got Nuuk’d

Most wanted airport receiver locations

We’re always looking for additional receiver hosts in areas that either lack coverage or need additional coverage. Help us grow the Flightradar24 ADS-B network.

How flight tracking works

Flightradar24 combines data from several data sources including ADS-B, MLAT and radar data.

Search the blog

Follow us

Latest AvTalk Podcasts

More stories
SkyWest flight 5971, operating for United Airlines as United Express, was en route from Aspen to Houston when it encountered severe turbulence over Texas…
At 14:15 local time on August 27th, 2024, KLM’s first Airbus A321neo, registration PH-AXA, took off from Hamburg for Amsterdam on its delivery flight,…
International flights have been suspended at Nuuk, Greenland (GOH | BGGH) after Danish authorities halted international passenger screening on 26 August. The airports authority…

Flight tracking top 10 aircraft

Explore the top 10 most tracked aircraft and find out why these particular aircraft draw so much interest.

Help to grow our flight tracking coverage

We are continually looking to improve our flight tracking and the airports below are where new receivers will add the most coverage. Apply for a receiver today and if accepted you’ll receiver a free Flightradar24 Business Subscription.

Free ADS-B Receiver
Flightradar24 logo
Try the full Flightradar24 experience free for 7 days
Remove ads and unlock over 50 additional features