Narrative:

While holding inbound at 50 DME from our international destination; left hand turns only way they would allow all aircraft to turn. We were about number 10 in the holding pattern with other aircraft holding above us. Clear on inbound fix but when turning outbound you were close to cirrus precipitation blow off. Descending in the turn outbound about FL220 being banked we encountered a couple of jolts/turbulence lasting about 5 to 8 seconds. 5 coach flight attendants lost balance and were hurt. Seat belt sign was on. About 30 minutes from landing PA was made and then we were put in the hold. I was listening to all aircraft in the hold with us; both above and below for any complaints of turbulence as we as well as other aircraft asked for right turns instead of left but were told unable. There were no complaints from other aircraft in the hold and we were descended in 2;000 ft step-down increments. There were no thunderstorms or convective activity where we were holding. All weather was east south east of the airport; but this was probably remnants of what had past through earlier. There was nothing I could see that warranted having the flight attendants being seated. In hindsight I would probably err more on the better to be safe than sorry to have the flight attendants take their seats.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B777 encountered severe turbulence while descending in the clear near some thunderstorm blow off. Five flight attendants were injured and required medical attention.

Narrative: While holding inbound at 50 DME from our international destination; left hand turns only way they would allow all aircraft to turn. We were about number 10 in the holding pattern with other aircraft holding above us. Clear on inbound fix but when turning outbound you were close to cirrus precipitation blow off. Descending in the turn outbound about FL220 being banked we encountered a couple of jolts/turbulence lasting about 5 to 8 seconds. 5 coach Flight Attendants lost balance and were hurt. Seat belt sign was on. About 30 minutes from landing PA was made and then we were put in the hold. I was listening to all aircraft in the hold with us; both above and below for any complaints of turbulence as we as well as other aircraft asked for right turns instead of left but were told unable. There were no complaints from other aircraft in the hold and we were descended in 2;000 FT step-down increments. There were no thunderstorms or convective activity where we were holding. All weather was east south east of the airport; but this was probably remnants of what had past through earlier. There was nothing I could see that warranted having the Flight Attendants being seated. In hindsight I would probably err more on the better to be safe than sorry to have the Flight Attendants take their seats.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.