Airbus Updates No.3407

 Frontier Airlines Airbus A320 Overshoots The Runway At DCA

Last night, a Frontier Airlines Airbus A320 overshot the runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after flying in from Denver International Airport. The narrowbody was left sitting on the grass for approximately an hour before passengers were transported to the airport’s building by buses.

The Frontier Airlines Airbus A320-200 has been with the airline for a decade. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Late-night drama

According to RadarBox.com, Flight F9538 left Denver, Colorado at 17:13 MDT before arriving in the Washington D.C. area at 22:18 EDT. However, there was more than a bumpy landing.

The Daily Mail reports that passengers noticed a few shakes then experienced a significant swerve before ending up off the runway. Thus, the wheels of the aircraft were left stuck in the grass.

At approximately 10:30pm Friday, Frontier Airlines flight 538, arriving at Reagan National Airport (DCA) from Denver (DEN) and operated on an Airbus A320, landed safely before coming to a stop in a grassy area off the end of Runway 1,” Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority shared, as reported by the Daily Mail.

“There are no reported injuries, and passengers will be deplaned from the aircraft via stairs and bused to the terminal. Runway 1/19 has been temporarily closed to air traffic while airport crews assess the situation, and Runway 15/33 is open.”

The Frontier Airlines passengers were delayed following the unexpected incident. Photo: Getty Images

No reported injuries

According to ch-aviation, registration N213FR, the A320-200 involved in this weekend’s incident, arrived at Frontier’s facilities in May 2011. The aircraft can hold 150 passengers in economy and 30 in economy plus. Thankfully, there were are no reported injuries to the guests and crew members on board following this event. Nonetheless, emergency vehicles were deployed soon after.

Buses arrived at 23:30 local time to help the 151 passengers on the plane make their way to the terminal, where they would be provided with further assistance and be reunited with their luggage.

Frontier has also since confirmed to Simple Flying that the aircraft came to a stop “slightly beyond the runway upon landing.” The low-cost carrier added that safety is the airline’s foremost priority and that an investigation has been launched to find out more about the occurrence in the D.C.-area.

Across the industry

This event isn’t the only overrun event that happened this week. An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 777 was also stuck in the mud after skidding off the runway at Lagos Airport in Nigeria. This sort of event is not extremely rare. Last month, we reported on an Antonov AN-124 overrunning the runway at Sao Paulo-Guarulhos. Carriers will undoubtedly be keen to eradicate these instances to avoid any potential danger.