Airbus A319-111 N927FR

Summary

On 16 February 2007 at about 19:35 local time, a Airbus A319-111 registered N927FR, operated by Frontier Airlines, was involved in an incident near Denver, Colorado, United States. 5 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 February 2007 at 19:35

Classification

Incident

Location

Denver, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Denver Intl (DEN)

Coordinates

39.8639, -104.6667

Aircraft

Airbus A319-111

Registration

N927FR

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Frontier Airlines

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → San Francisco

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN07IA069

Nobody was injured.

Fracturing of the aircraft windscreens due to impact with foreign object debris. Contributing to the event was the high, gusty surface winds.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the captain, the airplane had just departed and was making a turn to a heading of 270 degrees when they noticed the first officer's windshield cracking and beginning to arc. The captain alerted Air Traffic Control that they were returning to the airport and noticed that his windshield was also cracking, but not arcing. The first officer's windscreen stopped arcing and the flight crew landed the airplane without further incident. During the course of the afternoon, 14 airplanes experienced 26 fractured windshields. One flight crew reported that during the landing roll they "heard a loud thump" and observed the first officer's window "spider web." They did not observe anything impacting the windscreen. Another flight crew reported taxiing through "dirt and dust being blown around." Examination of the windshields revealed that the impact markings on all 26 windshields were the result of impact with foreign object debris (FOD). No pre-impact anomalies were noted with any of the windshields. Winds at the time of the event were reported as 280 degrees to 030 degrees with sustained winds between 28 and 36 knots. Wind gusts as high as 44 knots were recorded.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.