Was it Wake Turbulence ? JetBlue 2401 on Sunday April 9 from Buffalo to JFK

[Prioryboy]

Approximately 5-7 minutes before landing at KJFK we experienced a very abrupt, sharp aircraft roll from side to side. All passengers were in shock and the sensation of the aircraft being temporarily out of control was unlike anything I have experienced in over 3 million miles of passenger air travel. The flight crew said nothing for the rest of flight even after landing.

The conditions ( great visibility, light winds) seems consistent with situations of wake turbulence. I am new to the forum and wanted to benefit from experience from others who know how to navigate the ATC logs. I am trying to see if the pilots of the flight communicated anything about the incident to the tower.

What specific ATC logs for JFK would be most likely to have any conversations between ATC and the Jet Blue aircraft about 5-7 minutes from touch down ? Really appreciate any help or thoughts on how to research.

[ChrisBauer]

This is usually the point where the pilots practice what's called a sterile cockpit.  Meaning they really try to minimize any communication other than checklists or readbacks to the controllers. You can try right after they touched down. They may have reported something to the tower or the ground controller while vacating or taxiing.

I will grab the sections of audio for that time frame and give them a listen for you.  Also, I'll save them in case you just want to listen for yourself.

Thanks,

Chris

[ChrisBauer]

Hey, I found the audio for you.

I put together the approach clearance to ground handoff.

Right after the pilot contacts the tower, he does mention that the tower controller might want to warn the pilot behind him, because he tells the controller that he did hit the Airbus Heavy's wake "pretty badly". 

Chris

[Prioryboy]

Chris

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me on this (and for the rapid response). This is exactly what I was looking for.

[alphazulu]

Nice find Chris!

[Prioryboy]

One more question. Is there a time stamp for the audio when the pilot mentions the "pretty badly"  to the  tower (what an understatement 😃) ?

Happy to chase this down if you point me in the direction.

[ChrisBauer]

Hey yeah I have the time stamps. 

I was in a hurry yesterday, and I'm out of my office today.

I'll get them to you tomorrow or by Sunday you're time.

Chris

[ChrisBauer]

17:21:33 UTC / 1:21pm : ILS Clearance

17:23:40 UTC / 1:23pm : Tower Handoff

17:25:05 - 17:25:25 UTC / 1:25pm : Tower Contact, Mentions Wake Turbulence, Landing Clearance

17:29:40 UTC / 1:29pm : Vacatie Instructions, Ground Handoff

Those are all the time stamps. Hope they help. 

Just curious what are you going to use this audio for? Just for fun or ...?

Chris

[Prioryboy]

Thanks Again Chris!

I was with my family on that flight so everyone was curious what happened.

I am using the timing of the audio communication along with some Flightaware and Flightradar24 data to get a fact-based chronology in Excel of what happened (ie initial look at data and times shows we were behind a heavy --Iberia 6251 an A330 from Madrid-- and at around 1:23pm Eastern we were at 3,000 feet altitude and the Airbus was ahead descending below 2800 feet --when we hit the Airbus wake and experienced the side-to-side roll; I now have the raw data but have not calculated separation)

There are some differences (such airspeed) between the Flightaware data and  the Flightradar24 data but one interesting data point on the Flightradar 24 data for JBU2401 is a spike in altitude and speed around the 1:23pm Eastern mark

And of course I am learning about wake turbulence - I thought I had experienced all forms and ranges of turbulence - but this one was new to me - especially the way it can impact during takeoff and landings. Hopefully the pilot and tower learnings from incidents like this are used to reduce future incidents.

Thanks again for your help and responsiveness!

[Prioryboy]

Is there an aviation organization or authority that tracks incidences of wake turbulence in order to reduce the occurrence of the future?

I have tried to see if JetBlue learns from or passes on information like what happened on flight 2401 but so far I get only polite and generic answers (see below) when I inquire and ask whether it was wake turbulence and how reporting is handled:

"We're sorry to learn of the uneasiness you felt during your flight. We recognize that turbulence
can  be unnerving and we regret any anxiety you felt. We use state-of-the-art technology to prepare flight plans that navigate around paths of known turbulence. While we do our best to avoid patches of weather along flight paths, certain forms of  turbulence cannot be detected in advance.

The added bumpiness, "roll" you felt, while unsettling, was simply a change in the direction of
air you were flying through. Rest assured our aircraft are designed to withstand even the most severe turbulence.

 If you'd like more information about turbulence, visit http://blog.jetblue.com/unpacked-turbulence"