On Tuesday, August 21, 2012, an Airbus A330-300, registered HL8258, operated by Asiana Airlines Inc. as flight OZ231, took off from Honolulu International Airport the United States of America, for Incheon International Airport, the Republic of Korea, as a scheduled flight OZ231.

Asiana Airlines flight OZ231

While flying at approximately 40,000 ft over Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, around 15:17 Japan Standard Time (JST: unless otherwise stated all times are indicated in JST, UTC+9h), the aircraft was shaken.

Two passengers were seriously injured and one passenger was slightly injured.

There were 221 people on board, consisting of the pilot in command (PIC), 14 other crew members and 206 passengers.

The airplane was not damaged.

It is highly probable that in this accident, serious injury was sustained by a passenger walking in the rear aisle due to the severe shaking of the Aircraft, and that serious injury was sustained by another passenger seated nearby when the passenger removed the seat belt in order to help the injured passenger, the Aircraft shook severely again at that moment.

It is probable that the initial severe shaking of the Asiana Airlines flight OZ231 was a result of the Aircraft passing through or nearby cumulonimbus, due to the PIC and the R Captain failing to notice that the weather radar was off, and encountering atmospheric disturbances with severe changes in wind direction and speed coupled with strong updrafts.

It is possible that the next shaking of the Aircraft may have been influenced by the PIC’s control operations after disengaging the A/P to stabilize the aircraft.

It is probable that the reason for the PIC and the R Captain failing to notice that the weather radar was off was that their monitoring of the weather conditions and instruments was insufficient.