Accident Airbus A320-251N N328FR,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228602
 
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Date:Tuesday 27 August 2019
Time:06:50
Type:Silhouette image of generic A20N model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Airbus A320-251N
Owner/operator:Frontier Airlines
Registration: N328FR
MSN: 8118
Year of manufacture:2018
Engine model:CFMI CFM LEAP-1A26E1
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: None
Category:Accident
Location:near Denver, CO -   United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:Minneapolis, MN (MSP)
Destination airport:Denver, CO (DEN)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
On August 27, 2019, at 0650 am mountain daylight time, Frontier Airlines as flight 461, an Airbus A320, N328FR, encountered turbulence while on descent to the Denver International Airport (KDEN), Denver, Colorado. As a result of the turbulence, one flight attendant was seriously injured. There were no other injuries to the remainder of the passengers and crew onboard and the airplane was not damaged. The flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight from the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (KMSP), Minneapolis, Minnesota to KDEN. Visual flight conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

According to the flight crew, as the flight was approaching 15,000 feet, the captain, who was the pilot monitoring, identified a single cumulus cloud in front of them with the tops at about 15,000 feet, and informed the first officer (FO) of possible turbulence. The FO reduced airspeed to 250 knots in anticipation of the turbulence and the captain advised the flight attendants to take their seats. The airplane then entered moderate turbulence for about 10 seconds.

According to the flight attendants (FA), very shortly after being notified by the captain, the turbulence was encountered. The aft flight attendant was returning to her jumpseat when the turbulence occurred and she was thrown to the floor. After the encounter, she was helped back to her jumpseat by another FA and they informed the flight crew. The flight was met at the gate by medical personnel and the FA was transported to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken left ankle.

An NTSB Weather Study indicated likely mountain wave conditions between 11,000 and 14,000 feet with cloud formation near the accident site and points eastward, and cloud tops near 15,000 ft.

Probable Cause: an encounter with isolated convective turbulence.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: DCA19CA206
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 8 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/FFT461/history/20190827/1110Z/KMSP/KDEN

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
29-Aug-2019 22:24 Captain Adam Added
30-Aug-2019 08:44 harro Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
03-May-2020 18:58 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Operator, Total occupants, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, ]

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