ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A320-232 N760JB Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport, CO (HDN)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Saturday 22 January 2022
Time:11:57 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic A320 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Airbus A320-232
Operator:JetBlue Airways
Registration: N760JB
MSN: 3659
First flight: 2008-10-07 (13 years 4 months)
Total airframe hrs:50588
Engines: 2 IAE V2527-A5
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 102
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 108
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Aircraft fate: Repaired
Location:Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport, CO (HDN) (   United States of America)
Phase: Takeoff (TOF)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport, CO (HDN/KHDN), United States of America
Destination airport:Fort Lauderdale International Airport, FL (FLL/KFLL), United States of America
Flightnumber:B61748
Narrative:
JetBlue Airways flight 1748, an Airbus A320-232, suffered a tailstrike on takeoff from Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport (HDN), Colorado, USA, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane.

About 11:48 local time JetBlue’s 1748 flight crew announced on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) that they were leaving the ramp area to taxi to runway 10 for departure. A few seconds later, a Beechcraft B300 King Air, N350J, on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan reported on the local CTAF that they were "about 9 minutes out, for ten, coming in from the east, descending out of 17,000 ft". The UNICOM operator at HDN responded to N350J stating that there were "multiple aircraft inbound" and winds were calm and provided the altimeter setting. After this exchange, the JetBlue crew began discussing the active runway and the multiple inbound airplanes using runway 10.

About the time the JetBlue flight crew was starting their second engine and conducting engine checks, the King Air flight crew was contacting Denver ARTCC to cancel their IFR flight plan because they had visually acquired HDN and intended to land on runway 28. The Denver ARTCC controller acknowledged the IFR cancellation. The King Air’s flight crew subsequently announced, about 11:53 on CTAF that they were "going to go ahead and land two eight" and were "straight-in two eight right now". About 10 seconds later, the JetBlue flight crew announced on CTAF they were leaving the ramp area and were taxiing to runway 10 for departure. HDN UNICOM reported that multiple airplanes were inbound, and the winds were calm.
While the JetBlue flight crew was performing an after-start checklist, the King Air announced on CTAF they were on a "12-mile final two eight straight-in". About 45 seconds later, the King Air asked on CTAF if anyone was about to depart from runway 10, and the JetBlue flight crew replied that they intended to hold on the taxiway near the end of runway 10 and wait for a clearance from Denver ARTCC. The King Air replied they were on a "10-mile final, two eight, straight-in". The JetBlue flight crew said "alright, copy" and that they would keep an eye out for
them.
About 11:55, the JetBlue flight crew received clearance to their destination after reporting to Denver ARTCC that they were ready for departure on runway 10 at HDN.
The JetBlue flight crew then announced on CTAF that they had received their clearance and would be departing on "runway one zero". Within 5 seconds, the King Air’s flight crew reported they "had a king air on final two eight" and that they "had been calling." JetBlue’s flight crew replied on CTAF that they thought the King Air was "8 or 9 miles out", to which the King Air replied they were 4 miles out, "even less than that."
The JetBlue first officer, (pilot monitoring (PM)) stated that they looked for the airplane both visually and on their onboard traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) and did not see any air traffic. JetBlue flight crew acknowledged the King Air, looked for traffic approaching runway 10, and announced on CTAF that they were beginning their takeoff from runway 10 at HDN. The King Air’s flight crew replied that they were on a short final and "I hope you don’t hit us."
According to ADS-B data, when JetBlue taxied onto runway 10 the King Air was on a reciprocal course 4.91 nautical miles from JetBlue.
JetBlue’s crew increased thrust for takeoff about 11:57. About 11 seconds later, just prior to the 80 knots call out, the PM asked the PF if the King Air was on runway 28. The captain (pilot flying (PF)) asked "is he?" to which the PM said "Yes, he is on 28, do you see him?" to which the PF said no.

About 20 seconds after JetBlue started their take off on runway 10, the flight crew of the King Air asked JetBlue if they were going to do a quick turn-out, to which they replied, "yes sir."
Concurrent to this conversation, JetBlue’s captain pitched the airplane up, 24 knots before rotation speed, to avoid the approaching King Air and subsequently struck the tail of the airplane on the runway’s surface. He began a climbing right turn away from the traffic indicated on the TCAS. JetBlue’s captain and first officer both stated they never visually acquired the approaching King Air. According to ADS-B data, when JetBlue began its right turn after departure from runway 10 the King Air was on a reciprocal course with 2.27 nautical miles of separation between the converging airplanes.
While climbing to their cruising altitude, the flight crew discussed what had happened and consulted a jetBlue maintenance controller on their tailstrike. It was decided to divert to Denver for damage assessment.
The flight safely landed at Denver at 12:42 hours.

Probable Cause:

Probable Cause:
The captain’s rotation of the airplane pitch before the rotation speed on takeoff due to his surprise about encountering head on landing traffic, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s pitch limit and a subsequent tail strike.
Contributing to the accident was the flight crew’s expectation bias that the incoming aircraft was landing on the same runway as they were departing from, and the conflicting traffic’s nonstandard use of phraseology when making position calls on the common traffic advisory frequency.

Accident investigation:

Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 11 months
Accident number: DCA22LA069
Download report: Summary report

Classification:
Tailstrike
Runway mishap

Sources:
» Flightaware

METAR Weather report:
17:56 UTC / 10:56 local time:
KHDN 221756Z AUTO 21005KT 8SM -SN FEW003 M11/M14 A3037 RMK AO2 SNB11 SLP364 P0000 60000 T11061144 11072 21144 51008 FZRANO

19:23 UTC / 12:23 local time:
KHDN 221923Z AUTO 19003KT 10SM BKN003 M06/M14 A3035 RMK AO2 FZRANO


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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line is connecting ADS-B datapoints from Flightradar24.
Distance from Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport, CO to Fort Lauderdale International Airport, FL as the crow flies is 2944 km (1840 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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