Kansas City International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Kansas City, Missouri 64153
Saturday, November 14, 2009 18:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff as it was climbing through 4,260 feet at 252 knots. The right engine spooled down to flight idle. When the crew attempted to advance the throttle, there were a series of compressor stalls. Passengers said they saw fireballs being ejected from the engine. The crew declared an emergency, returned to the airport, and landed uneventfully. The bird remains were identified as Lesser Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) with an average weight of 5.3 pounds.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The in-flight engine ingestion of one or more Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens).

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 11/14/2009
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Kansas City
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 64153
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 391752N
Event Location Longitude 0944250W
Event Location Airport Kansas City International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MCI
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1026
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID MCI
Elevation of weather observation facility 1026
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 20000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.62
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report METAR KMCI 132353Z 18014KT 10SM FEW150 OVC200 18/1
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 130
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 26509
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 6 2010 4:01PM
User who most recently changed record bowl
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N924FR
NTSB Number CEN10IA053
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 121: Air Carrier
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Minor
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name AIRBUS
Aircraft Model A319-111
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2030
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AFS Investments XXII LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 201 High Ridge Rd. 2953-ID
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
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 80249-7312
Operator Code FFT
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 MCI
Departure City Kansas City
Departure State MO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code DEN
Destination City Denver
Destination State CO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 19 2009 7:39PM
User who most recently changed record scoa
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --