Frontier A20N at Las Vegas on Dec 12th 2021, tail strike on landing

Last Update: July 20, 2022 / 08:37:47 GMT/Zulu time

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Photo of Frontier Airlines N307FR, Airbus A320-200N — Frontier Airlines N307FR, Airbus A320-200N (Photo credit: TDelCoro / Flickr / License: CC by-sa)

Incident Facts

Date of incident
Dec 12, 2021

Classification
Accident

Cause
Tail strike on landing

Airline
Frontier Airlines

Flight number
F9-2047

Departure
Memphis, United States

Destination
Las Vegas, United States

Aircraft Registration
N307FR

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320-200N

ICAO Type Designator
A20N

Airport
McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas

Airport ICAO Code
KLAS

A Frontier Airlines Airbus A320-200N, registration N307FR performing flight F9-2047 from Memphis,TN to Las Vegas,NV (USA), landed on Las Vegas' runway 26L, however, it tail contacted the runway surface. The aircraft rolled out without further incident and taxied to the apron. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT INCURRED A TAIL STRIKE ON LANDING, LAS VEGAS, NV.", the damage was unknown and the occurrence was rated an incident.

On Dec 14th 2021 the FAA updated the report stating the aircraft suffered the tail strike on the flight from Memphis,TN (not Ontario,CA as earlier identified) and reported the damage was substantial and the occurrence was now rated an accident.

The aircraft is still on the ground in Las Vegas about 33 hours after landing.

On Dec 15th 2021 the NTSB reported the occurrence was rated an accident, the aircraft had sustained substantial damage, stating the tail strike occurred at 08:22Z on Dec 13th (local time 23:22L Dec 12th). The NTSB opened an investigation but did not dispatch investigators on site.

On Jul 20th 2022 the NTSB released their final report and their investigation docket concluding the probable cause of the accident was:

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

The NTSB analysed:

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.

Metars:
KLAS 131056Z 21003KT 10SM BKN250 02/M09 A3002 RMK AO2 SLP167 T00221089=
KLAS 130956Z 00000KT 10SM BKN250 03/M09 A3001 RMK AO2 SLP165 T00281094=
KLAS 130856Z 20005KT 10SM SCT250 03/M09 A3001 RMK AO2 SLP165 T00281094 58005=
KLAS 130756Z 21005KT 10SM FEW250 04/M09 A3002 RMK AO2 SLP168 T00391094 401170006=
KLAS 130656Z 23004KT 10SM FEW250 04/M09 A3003 RMK AO2 SLP170 T00391094=
KLAS 130556Z 23004KT 10SM FEW160 SCT250 05/M09 A3002 RMK AO2 SLP170 T00501089 10111 20044 51001=
KLAS 130456Z 29005KT 10SM FEW160 SCT250 06/M09 A3002 RMK AO2 SLP171 T00611089=
KLAS 130356Z 25003KT 10SM FEW160 SCT250 06/M09 A3002 RMK AO2 SLP171 T00611089=