Denver International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Denver, Colorado 80249
Monday, October 10, 2005 11:20 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was de-iced and the flight crew was given a clearance to taxi. Communications between the flight crew and the de-icing vehicle operator were inadequate and the de-icing crew failed to correctly follow their post de-icing procedure. As the aircraft moved forward, the crew felt a jolt and received an ECAM warning for flight control/slat fault. They also received a report from a passenger who stated he had seen the de-ice truck and the airplane's right wing collide. Weather at the time of the incident was 1/4 SM visibility, snow, fog, temperature 0 degrees C., and dew point minus 1 degree C.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the de-ice vehicle operator's failure to follow post de-icing procedures, resulting in a collision. Contributing factors were the fog, snow, and the de-icing vehicle.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 10/10/2005
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1120
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Denver
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80249
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude 395141N
Event Location Longitude 1044023W
Event Location Airport Denver International Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID DEN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5431
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1132 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID DEN
Elevation of weather observation facility 5431
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 300
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 2200
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 25
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0.25
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 0
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 330
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.16
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 109
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19344
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Ctr
NTSB Notification Date Oct 10 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 28 2006 1:55PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office DEN FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N927FR
NTSB Number DEN06IA008
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed --
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Airbus Industries
Aircraft Model A319-111
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2209
Certified Max Gross Weight 155204
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 140
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 1182
Airframe Hours 5063
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name International Lease Finance Corp.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Los Angeles
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 90067
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name FRONTIER AIRLINES INC
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Denver
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 80249
Operator Code F3LA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) --
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code DEN
Departure City Denver
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1118
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code SAN
Destination City San Diego
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 16 2006 3:05PM
User who most recently changed record JOHB
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --