Summary
- JetBlue pilot performed tailstrike during takeoff to avoid collision with incoming private jet at Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport.
- NTSB report attributes the accident to “expectation bias” of JetBlue crew and “nonstandard use of phrasing” from the oncoming plane.
- The flight landed safely in Denver however the aircraft incurred substantial damage from the tailstrike.
A JetBlue pilot hit a tailstrike to get airborne as quickly as possible to avoid a possible head-on collision with an incoming private jet. The accident happened at Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport (HDN) in January 2022, causing significant damage to the aircraft, an A320.
NTSB final report on JetBlue tailstrike accident
On January twenty second, 2022, a JetBlue Airbus A320-200 (registration: N760JB), operating flight 1748 from Hayden, Colorado to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), suffered substantial damage after striking its tail during takeoff. Nonetheless, what’s unusual about this case is that the pilot intentionally performed the maneuver to avoid colliding with one other aircraft landing from the other way.
Photo: NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) has now released its final report on what it classifies as an accident almost two years later, citing “expectation bias” from JetBlue’s pilots and “nonstandard use of phrasing” from the oncoming plane as contributing aspects.
What exactly happened?
The JetBlue A320 was holding on the taxiway at the tip of runway 10, performing final checks and awaiting takeoff clearance. On approach to HDN was a Beechcraft B300 King Air (registration: N350J) – despite initially desiring to land on runway 10, the King Air crew modified their plan and would land on runway 28 as an alternative, from the other way.
The JetBlue plane received takeoff clearance at 11:55 but with a two-minute clearance time. Crucially, the JetBlue crew still believed the King Air jet intended to land on runway 10 (the identical direction the JetBlue plane could be taking off from). When hearing the aircraft was 4 miles out, the JetBlue crew expedited their departure, considering the King Air plane could be landing from behind them and never in front.
The NTSB report stated,
The report added that the JetBlue flight crew’s “” could have exacerbated this bias. After increasing thrust for takeoff, the JetBlue crew realized the King Air was heading in the right direction for runway 28, not runway 10. To flee a possible collision, the pilot pitched the plane up sooner than usual to attempt to get airborne more quickly, causing a tailstrike in the method.
Flight lands safely in Denver
The flight crew was not entirely sure if a tailstrike had occurred and consulted with flight attendants, who said they felt a transparent tailstrike during takeoff. At about 20,000 ft altitude, pilots then spoke with the airline’s maintenance controller and were advised to land as soon as possible in case of injury.
The aircraft then leveled out at FL310 and diverted to Denver International Airport (DEN), where it landed safely with no injuries. Despite the absence of warnings from the flight deck controls, substantial damage to the tail could pose a serious safety threat to an in-flight aircraft, even when nothing was amiss initially.
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