Airbus A320-251N N307FR

Summary

On 13 December 2021 at about 08:33 local time, a Airbus A320-251N registered N307FR, operated by Frontier Airlines, was involved in an accident near Paradise, Nevada, United States. 123 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 December 2021 at 08:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Paradise, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Harry Reid International (KLAS)

Coordinates

36.0798, -115.1534

Aircraft

Airbus A320-251N

Registration

N307FR

Category

Airplane

Year built

2017

Engines

2

Operator

Frontier Airlines

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Memphis → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

DCA22LA044

Nobody was injured.

The captain’s failure to maintain proper pitch attitude during landing, likely caused by improper seat position.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane experienced a tailstrike during landing at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada. The captain hand flew the approach with auto thrust off. He stated that the landing picture looked normal and started the flare about 1000 feet down the runway. However, during the flare, the pitch, pitch alert activated, and the airplane bounced. After the event, the captain checked his seat position and found that it was 2 inches higher than normal, which may have altered his sight picture. Post-flight inspection revealed abrasion damage to the lower fuselage skin, deformation to the aft pressure bulkhead, damage to multiple frame fasteners, and multiple pulled fasteners.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.