Denver Intl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Denver, Colorado 80249
Monday, October 23, 2006 14:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the landing flare approximately 10 feet above ground level, the aircraft pitched nose down while the captain applied aft sidestick force. The rate that the nose descended seemed to be commanded and extremely smooth. The first officer wondered if he could have accidentally bumped his sidestick, but he did not think that action occurred. The captain landed the airplane with the main landing gear touching down first, and the captain's sidestick was once again responsive. The entire event took no longer than 2 seconds. No electronic centralized aircraft monitor (ECAM) warnings or other indications were noticed by the flight crew. Review of the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) data revealed that the captain's sidestick (left) was inoperative for approximately 1 second during the landing flare. During that time, the first officer's sidestick (right) pitch was in the neutral position. Less than one second after the captain's sidestick went to inoperative, both sidestick pitch positions went to approximately 14-16 degrees aft. Pitch data revealed a decrease in pitch of approximately 2 degrees during the event. The airframe manufacturer provided the following analysis of the incident: "Captain was Pilot Flying (PF). First officer was Pilot Non Flying (PNF). Manual approach and flare input from the PF were nominal. But, it appeared that [the] PNF take-over and priority pushbutton was pushed inadvertently for approximately 1 to 2 seconds during flare. As a warning, white arrow pointing to the right was displayed in front of captain (PF) and F/O (first officer) green light was lit in front of F/O (PNF). With the F/O priority button pressed, EFCS (Electrical Flight Control System) disregarded the captain inputs to the benefit of the F/O one. During this time, as no order (neutral) was applied on F/O sidestick, aircraft elevators returned to neutral position, leading pitch attitude to be reduced by 1.5 degrees. EFCS switched back to captain sidestick when priority switch was released, and captain resumed flare and landing uneventfully." According to operator, the non-flying pilot's hand should not be on the sidestick during critical phases of flight, such as the landing flare; however, the non-flying pilot should be in a position to takeover control, if required.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The inadvertent activation of the priority pushbutton on the sidestick by the first officer resulting in a nose down pitch and loss of aircraft control during the landing flare.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 10/23/2006
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Denver
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80249
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 395141N
Event Location Longitude 1044023W
Event Location Airport DENVER INTL
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 1256 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 25000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 15000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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 136
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21595
NTSB Notification Source FAA-Denver Air Traffic Control
NTSB Notification Date Oct 24 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 27 2007 1:15PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver, Colorado

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N924FR
NTSB Number DEN07IA027
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Airbus Industrie
Aircraft Model A319-111
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2030
Certified Max Gross Weight 155322
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 Oct 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 171
Airframe Hours 10544
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AFS Investments 58, LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Stamford
Aircraft Owner State CT
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 06927
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 7001 Tower Rd.
Operator City Denver
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 80249
Operator Code FALA
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 No
Departure Airport Code LAX
Departure City LOS ANGELES
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code DEN
Destination City Denver
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - flare/touchdown
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 23 2007 9:02AM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 16R
Runway Length 16000
Runway Width 200
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --