B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 192; Flight Crew Type 7238
Workload; Distraction
Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Weather
Started our flight at a cruise altitude of FL330 started to get bumpy about 15 minutes into cruise. Then moderate turbulence I told Flight Attendants (FAs) to be seated.  Made a PA about suspending service; changed Altitude to FL310; better ride for 5 minutes; Changed Altitude again to FL290; reduced IAS to 290. Then to descended to FL270. Finally found a smooth ride; waited 5 minutes; called the FAs; told them that I was going to keep the Seat belt sign on; but it should be ok for them to start moving in the galley; don't bring the carts out the aisle yet and see where this ride will go.  Almost 5 minutes later we encountered moderate Turbulence for 5-10 seconds; then 30 Seconds of severe turbulence; followed by 1 minute of moderate turbulence; commanded the FAs to take their jumpseats over the PA. We were able to get a lower altitude of FL250; Aircraft (AC) was stable called the Purser to find out if everyone was alright. She explained that all the Passengers were down and ok; but that [a flight attendant] had injured his knee; wrist and bumped his head; and that [another flight attendant] hurt his Ribs and maybe back.  I talked to them about deviating or to ask if there was; any medical personnel on board who could help evaluate them; we decided to continue on.  They all agreed to continue; but to have EMTs meet the AC [at destination]; to help evaluate them; and see the extent of injury and go to clinic or hospital if necessary. Notified Dispatch with multiple messages; while notifying Dispatch of our situation and notifying [medical services] for us; while relaying the info; got messages from [Company] Flt. ops manger; [flight operations]; Ops manager in ORD; and [maintenance] about the Severe Turbulence; asking if I referenced the Quick reference Guide (QRG) yet for the Turbulence action guide.  All the while sending multiple messages asking the names; file number then age of my FAs; info that is readily available to them; while we were managing the AC for the remainder of the flight. Because REMF at FL250 was showing about 3.2 thousand pounds. Not a very safe option. To many messages about info that they already had if they just took a moment to think about the messages I sent to dispatch. Also; trying to get better information from ATC as far as rides went was difficult; because each controller had a different story as far as rides and altitude. 10-15 later I made a PA to the Passengers about what happened and that the AC was fine and my FAs had been banged up a little; but we were going to continue on.Approximately 20-30 minutes later I talked to the FAs again to make sure they were alright; and explained to them what happened on our end and the messages sent. Then I asked if they were really ok; because I explained to them that they were running on adrenaline; and might not feel yet; but if things change please let us know. So we continued to MCO. P.S. Original flight had us at FL310 Climbing to FL350 through that area; with a Flight Plan REMF of 6;000 pounds.
We took off at XA:00. We were planned at FL310 until WEEDS and leveled off there. We were supposed to later climb to 350 then 370. At that time we turned off the fasten belts sign off and were discussing the forecasted turbulence ahead. As we switched frequencies we would inquire on the rides. As we flew farther east we started to hear reports of bad rides above us. We passed WEEDS and decided to stay at 310. One sector reported rides from 340-390 were getting moderate and 330-290 were light. We turned on the fasten belts sign and I believe at some point we climbed to 330. At some point the turbulence started and he told the flight attendants to secure all carts and be seated. We then encountered moderate and even just a few seconds of what I might've called severe. We reported the moderate turbulence to ATC and asked for immediate descent to 270. We had a rough ride on the way down and then everything seemed to smooth out at 270. After several minutes of smooth and maybe an occasional light ripple; he called the flight attendants and told them they could get up; but not to get any carts out. At that time there were no adverse PIREPS from other aircraft at 270 or below. I did not object to letting them up and did not question his judgment. I'd say about 3-5 minutes after that; at approximately XA:45 and 15 miles West of ICT I noticed the VSI trending into a climb and our airspeed started to increase. I recognized this as wave and began to pull the thrust back to maintain airspeed. Shortly after that the aircraft shook violently and I was thrown against my seat belt and reached up to grab the controls. The FMA showed auto throttle on; lateral mode of CWS and ALT HOLD. My best guess is the aircraft rolled about 20-30 degrees and I made the necessary control inputs to get back to wings level and then proceeded to put the plane back into LNAV/VNAV. We reported the turbulence to ATC as moderate to severe and requested a descent to 250. The severe turbulence may have lasted 30 seconds or so at the most. When everything was calm at 250 he called the back and spoke to the flight attendants. We became aware that [two flight attendants] in the aft galley had been injured and they determined they could and would like to continue to MCO. I did not hear most of the conversation; but the lead flight attendant was advocating for them to receive medical attention upon landing. We then reported the incident to dispatch and over the next hour or so answered various questions from dispatch; [flight operations] and [maintenance]. Besides being a little shaken up; the rest of the flight continued safely and normally. We eventually climbed up I believe to a maximum of 350 when we returned to smooth air well east of the forecasted and reported turbulence area to achieve a desirable REMF. We left the fasten belts sign on for the remainder of the flight. When we landed the passengers deplaned and [the injured flight attendants] were attended to by EMS in the jet bridge. Maintenance completed their inspection and we continued [on].
The flight crew of this 737 flight; and the responsible dispatcher; reported an enroute encounter with severe turbulence. No passengers were injured. However; two flight attendants were injured but elected to continue to the destination where they received medical attention.