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B777 flight crew described an inadvertent activation of the first officer's electric seat control by the seat belt buckle; while he is attempting to get into the seat. His legs were pinned between the pedestal and the seat and he fell onto the yoke; causing an abrupt pitch over injuring passengers and flight attendants.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1207735 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201409 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | FO |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B777-200 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Pilot Seat |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer Pilot Not Flying Relief Pilot |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Captain |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness Inflight Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
During our initial descent (through approx 30;000 feet); the aircraft experienced a turbulent jolt resulting in numerous flight attendant and passenger injuries. The seatbelt sign was on as we began our descent out of FL380. We were descending to FL160 when I let the first officer back into the cockpit. As the first officer moved to sit in the seat; the seat began to prematurely move forward; trapping him just below the knees. The first officer's legs were trapped between the seat and the pedestal as the seat continued to move forward electrically. He appeared to be in a great deal of pain. Just then; the aircraft dropped and the autopilot disconnected. The captain flew manually; and I moved to free the first officer with the electrical seat switch. I called back and discovered a number of flight attendants (3) and passengers had received injuries from the turbulent drop. I was able to stay on my feet and thought we had experienced severe turbulence (something I have never experienced before). We declared an emergency with ATC and were cleared directly to the field. Approach and landing were uneventful. We requested 7 ambulances to address injuries to flight attendants and passengers.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B777 flight crew described an inadvertent activation of the First Officer's electric seat control by the seat belt buckle; while he is attempting to get into the seat. His legs were pinned between the pedestal and the seat and he fell onto the yoke; causing an abrupt pitch over injuring passengers and flight attendants.
Narrative: During our initial descent (through approx 30;000 feet); the aircraft experienced a turbulent jolt resulting in numerous Flight Attendant and passenger injuries. The seatbelt sign was on as we began our descent out of FL380. We were descending to FL160 when I let the First Officer back into the cockpit. As the First Officer moved to sit in the seat; the seat began to prematurely move forward; trapping him just below the knees. The First Officer's legs were trapped between the seat and the pedestal as the seat continued to move forward electrically. He appeared to be in a great deal of pain. Just then; the aircraft dropped and the autopilot disconnected. The Captain flew manually; and I moved to free the First Officer with the electrical seat switch. I called back and discovered a number of flight attendants (3) and passengers had received injuries from the turbulent drop. I was able to stay on my feet and thought we had experienced severe turbulence (something I have never experienced before). We declared an emergency with ATC and were cleared directly to the field. Approach and landing were uneventful. We requested 7 ambulances to address injuries to flight attendants and passengers.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.