An Airbus A321
operated by Frontier Airlines
came to a fiery and smoky stop at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
on Sunday. The pilots reportedly detected smoke during their approach, but the aircraft, with nearly 200 people onboard, was seen with flames beneath as it slowed down on the runway.

Passengers had to evacuate the aircraft via airstairs and were transported to the terminal. Crews towed the plane to an open area on the tarmac, where investigators will try to determine what caused the ordeal.

Flight details

According to Flightradar24, the flight was operated by N701FR. It was arriving at LAS as FFT1326 from San Diego International Airport (SAN)
. FlightAware data shows that the aircraft pushed back from gate 17 at 13:51, over 20 minutes past its scheduled departure time of 13:27. It taxied to runway 27, where it was airborne at 14:21. The plane immediately turned northwest as it climbed in altitude. Once it reached about 23,000 feet, it turned northeast, flying over the Los Angeles basin.

FlightAware FFT1326 Saturday October 5, 2024.

Photo: FlightAware

At 14:39, just 18 minutes after takeoff, N701FR had reached its cruising altitude of 29,000 feet and was traveling at about 567 miles per hour. It only maintained the altitude for about 10 minutes, and had begun its descent at 14:48. About 13 minutes later, the aircraft was passing through 12,000 feet and was flying over the North McCullough Wilderness, just south of LAS.

It then flew over the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area and subsequently over Interstate 11, southeast of Henderson, before turning back west to line up for its final approach. At approximately 15:06, the aircraft had lined up with runway 25L and descended through 4,000 feet. It touched down four minutes later at 15:10.

“In the process of landing”

According to the video of the incident on X, the flames appeared to be coming from the aircraft’s right main landing gear
or tire. As it came to a stop, it left a trail of smoke behind. Emergency responders are also seen rushing to the aircraft. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.

Frontier confirmed the incident in a statement to Simple Flying on Saturday.

“As Flight 1326 from San Diego to Las Vegas was in the process of landing at LAS this afternoon at approximately 3.15p PT, the pilots detected smoke and declared an emergency. The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew were evacuated via airstairs. No injuries were reported, and passengers have been bussed to the terminal. There were a total of 190 passengers and 7 crew members on board. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.”

About the aircraft

N701FR is a nine-year-old A321, according to ch-aviation. It first flew in September 2015 and was delivered to Frontier the following month. As of July of this year, the aircraft had nearly 28,000 flight hours under its belt across more than 11,900 flight cycles.

Frontier Airlines Airbus A321 (N701FR) at Miami International Airport.

Photo: HMBSoFL Photography | Shutterstock

While it has been taken out of service for inspections, it is unclear which flight it was supposed to operate after FFT1326. However, flight data suggests that it could have been FFT1465, which journeys back to San Diego. The flight was scheduled to depart at LAS at 16:05, but it had been delayed nearly three hours.

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