- Date
- December 13, 2021, 00:33 local (08:33 UTC)
- Place
- Paradise, NV · LAS airport
- Injuries
- 123 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N307FRAirbus A320-251N
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Tailstrike
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Parties
- Frontier, BEA, FAA
- Case key
- 104393
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The captain’s failure to maintain proper pitch attitude during landing, likely caused by improper seat position.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N307FR
- Reported as
- Airbus A320-251N
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7472
- Built
- 2017
- Airframe hours
- 16,088
- Engines
- CFM Intl LEAP-1A26, 27,120 lbs thrust, turbo jetCFM Intl LEAP-1A26, 27,120 lbs thrust, turbo jet
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Frontier Airlines
- Registered owner
- AerCap Ireland Limited
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 11, 2021
- Departed
- KMEM · Memphis, TN
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KLAS · Harry Reid International, runway 26L, 10,526 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Data recorder
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 64
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 20, 2021
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 6,537 total · 1,892 in this make and model · 1,525 as pilot in command
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 24, 2021
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 7,276 total · 976 in this make and model · 3,835 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 230° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- KLAS
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 19, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.9 MB in all.