Narrative:
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.
Damaged on the ground
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Monday 28 January 2019 |
| Time: | 06:17 |
| Type: |  Airbus A320-214 (WL) |
| Operator: | Frontier Airlines |
| Registration: | N220FR |
| MSN: | 5661 |
| First flight: | 2013 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 120 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 126 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Denver International Airport, CO (DEN) ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | Pushback / towing (PBT) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Denver International Airport, CO (DEN/KDEN), United States of America |
| Buffalo-Greater Buffalo International Airport, NY (BUF/KBUF), United States of America | |
| Flightnumber: | 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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Classification:
Collision with airport equipmentDamaged on the ground
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Denver International Airport, CO to Buffalo-Greater Buffalo International Airport, NY as the crow flies is 2167 km (1354 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from Denver International Airport, CO to Buffalo-Greater Buffalo International Airport, NY as the crow flies is 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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