Beschrijving:
Frontier Airlines flight 450, an Airbus A320-214, N220FR, was struck by the tug during pushback operations at Denver International Airport (KDEN), Denver, Colorado. There were no injuries and the airplane received substantial damage.
According to flight crew statements, the crew advised the tug driver they were cleared to push back, either tail east or straight back. At the time of the accident, dark night conditions existed and the ramp was contaminated with snow. During the pushback, the flight crew started No. 1 and 2 engines. The tug driver pushed the airplane back with its empennage towards the east and then notified the captain that he would pull forward to straighten them out. As the tug driver pulled the airplane forward and was coming to a stop the airplane's nose began to drift to the left. The tug detached from the airplane and impacted the right forward fuselage and right engine air intake resulting in substantial damage. The captain noted that the nose swung to the left, and then said it felt as if the airplane was moving backwards. According to the operator, on the morning of the accident, the ramp management company had instructed their ground personnel that all pushbacks should be straight back pushes due to the snowy conditions. It is likely that the angle of the towbar from pushing the airplane back to the east, combined with the snow contaminated ramp and the engine idle thrust, caused the tug driver to lose control of the tug during the pushback.
Probable Cause: loss of control of the tug by the driver during pushback operations as a result of the contaminated ramp, angle of the towbar, and the airplane engines being at idle thrust.
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Datum: | maandag 28 januari 2019 |
| Tijd: | 06:17 |
| Type: |  Airbus A320-214 (WL) |
| Luchtvaartmaatschappij: | Frontier Airlines |
| Registratie: | N220FR |
| Constructienummer: | 5661 |
| Bouwjaar: | 2013 |
| Bemanning: | slachtoffers: 0 / inzittenden: 6 |
| Passagiers: | slachtoffers: 0 / inzittenden: 120 |
| Totaal: | slachtoffers: 0 / inzittenden: 126 |
| Schade: | Groot |
| Plaats: | Denver International Airport, CO (DEN) ( Verenigde Staten)
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| Fase: | Pushback (PBT) |
| Soort vlucht: | Binnenlandse lijnvlucht |
| Vliegveld van vertrek: | Denver International Airport, CO (DEN/KDEN), Verenigde Staten |
| Buffalo-Greater Buffalo International Airport, NY (BUF/KBUF), Verenigde Staten | |
| Vluchtnummer: | 450 |
Frontier Airlines flight 450, an Airbus A320-214, N220FR, was struck by the tug during pushback operations at Denver International Airport (KDEN), Denver, Colorado. There were no injuries and the airplane received substantial damage.
According to flight crew statements, the crew advised the tug driver they were cleared to push back, either tail east or straight back. At the time of the accident, dark night conditions existed and the ramp was contaminated with snow. During the pushback, the flight crew started No. 1 and 2 engines. The tug driver pushed the airplane back with its empennage towards the east and then notified the captain that he would pull forward to straighten them out. As the tug driver pulled the airplane forward and was coming to a stop the airplane's nose began to drift to the left. The tug detached from the airplane and impacted the right forward fuselage and right engine air intake resulting in substantial damage. The captain noted that the nose swung to the left, and then said it felt as if the airplane was moving backwards. According to the operator, on the morning of the accident, the ramp management company had instructed their ground personnel that all pushbacks should be straight back pushes due to the snowy conditions. It is likely that the angle of the towbar from pushing the airplane back to the east, combined with the snow contaminated ramp and the engine idle thrust, caused the tug driver to lose control of the tug during the pushback.
Probable Cause:
Probable Cause: loss of control of the tug by the driver during pushback operations as a result of the contaminated ramp, angle of the towbar, and the airplane engines being at idle thrust.
Accident investigation:
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Foto's
Kaart
Deze kaart geeft het vliegveld van vetrek weer en de geplande bestemming van de vlucht. De lijn tussen de vliegvelden geeft niet de exacte vliegroute weer.
De afstand tussen Denver International Airport, CO en Buffalo-Greater Buffalo International Airport, NY bedraagt 2167 km (1354 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
De afstand tussen Denver International Airport, CO en Buffalo-Greater Buffalo International Airport, NY bedraagt 2167 km (1354 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
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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