Draft:Flight 1748
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Comment: Not clear how this would satisfy WP:EVENTCRIT? DoubleGrazing (talk) 08:57, 23 May 2025 (UTC)
 JetBlue A320 N760JB taking off with a high pitch angle causing a tail strike. | |
| Incident | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 22, 2022 |
| Summary | Tail strike caused by aircraft avoidance |
| Site | Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport 40°28′52″N 107°13′04″W / 40.48111°N 107.21778°W |
| First aircraft | |
| Type | Airbus A320-232 |
| Name | "These Blues Were Made For Flying" |
| Operator | JetBlue |
| IATA flight No. | B61748 |
| ICAO flight No. | JBU1748 |
| Call sign | JETBLUE 1748 |
| Registration | N760JB |
| Flight origin | Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport |
| Destination | Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport |
| Passengers | 102 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 108 |
| Second aircraft | |
| Type | Beechcraft King Air 300 |
| Operator | SOUTHERN STAR INC |
| Registration | N350J |
| Destination | Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport |
On January 22, 2022, JetBlue Flight 1748, operating its seasonal service en route from Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN) in in Hayden, Colorado to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport suffered a tail strike during takeoff whilst trying to avoid an oncoming Beechcraft B300 King Air, registration N350J, which was landing on the opposite end of the runway. Flight 1748 was diverted to Denver International Airport as a general precaution. There were no injuries occurred during this incident.[1][2]
The primary aircraft involved in the incident was JetBlue Airways Flight 1748, an Airbus A320-232, registered as N760JB. At the time of the incident, this aircraft was approximately 15 years old. The flight crew consisted of a captain with over 11,000 flight hours and a first officer with 3,300 flight hours, indicating a highly experienced cockpit crew.[3]
Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport (HDN)
[edit]Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport (HDN) is situated in Hayden, Colorado, approximately 25 miles west of the ski town of Steamboat Springs. The airport is located at an elevation of 6,600 feet Mean Sea Level (MSL) and features a single 10,000-foot runway, designated 10/28. HDN serves as a seasonal destination for several major mainline carriers, including JetBlue, Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest, and United, particularly during the winter ski season.
A critical characteristic of the airport is its lack of an operating control tower. Consequently, air traffic coordination at HDN relies primarily on radio communication between aircraft and external air traffic control facilities. Pilots receive an instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance from Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and coordinate local traffic using a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF). Additionally, all pilots operating in the vicinity are advised and highly encouraged to communicate their intentions on a published Universal Communications Frequency (UNICOM).
Incident
[edit]JetBlue Flight 1748 was departing the Yampa Valley Regional Airport for its scheduled service to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport. The Yampa Valley Airport is an uncontrolled/ Non-towered airport airport which means it has no air traffic control tower managing and overseeing the operations of the airport. All pilots operating into and out of any uncontrolled airport are required to broadcast and monitor the airports radio traffic by announcing their positions and intentions on common radio frequencies (CTAF/UNICOM) for traffic coordination.
Airline pilots are required to manage multiple tasks other than just flying the aircraft in a safe and professional manner. Pilots are often saturated with multiple tasks and procedures at any given time while keep a mental picture of what other air traffic is doing on top of inputting data for the flight, making sure they adhere to their schedule times, communicating with the company, and other pilot duties. This can lead to task saturation and the pilot/s becoming overwhelmed and "getting behind their airplane". This a contributing factor with what happened with the pilots of flight 1748.
During taxing both pilots were unfamiliar with the airport and airfield operations. They pilot monitoring was transmitting radio announcements to the surrounding airport traffic that the flight would be taxing to the end of runway 10 for departure. At this same time the pilots of the Beechcraft King Air 300 had been properly broadcasting their intentions of landing opposite of JetBlue 1748, runway 28.
Both the JetBlue Airbus A320 (Flight 1748) and the Beechcraft King Air (N350J) initially coordinated their respective flight plans with the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC). The JetBlue crew received clearance from Denver ARTCC for takeoff from Runway 10, accompanied by a two-minute clearance void time. Meanwhile, the King Air announced on CTAF that they were "about nine minutes out, for 10, coming in from the east, descending out of 17,000 ft.". Adding to the complexity, the a general warning was issued to both aircraft about "multiple aircraft" in the vicinity of the airport.
The pilots of JetBlue Flight 1748 announced on the airport common traffic advisory frequency their intentions of taking off from runway 10. They interpreted the King Air's initial calls to mean that the King Air was several miles out and intended to land on Runway 10 behind them, leading them to believe they had clear authorization to proceed with their departure. The King Air crew later attempted to clarify their position, stating they were on a "12-mile final two eight straight-in" and specifically inquired on CTAF if any aircraft were preparing to depart from Runway 10. The JetBlue crew had also failed to hear the prior radio calls and remember other traffic had announced it was on a short final for runway 28 due to completing final checklist requirements and calls with the cabin crew for departure.
As the King Air was on its final approach, the JetBlue aircraft resumed its procedural departure, announcing on CTAF that they were taxiing to Runway 10 for takeoff. Upon hearing JetBlue's announcement, the King Air crew responded with an urgent, informal warning on the frequency: "I hope you don't hit us," indicating they were on a short final approach.
The pilots of the JetBlue flight applied takeoff power and started their takeoff roll as N350J was crossing the runway threshold on the opposite end. The JetBlue captain and co-pilot later stated they never visually acquired the King Air during their takeoff roll. By the time the JetBlue pilots realized the King Air had already landed and was ahead and approaching, the aircraft had already accelerated close to its V1 speed and attempting to abort the takeoff would've be dangerous. As both aircraft speed towards one another the JetBlue captain, who was the pilot flying, reacted by rotating the aircraft "more quickly than normal" and about 24 knots before the calculated rotate (Vr) speed. This resulted in the aircraft over rotating early without achieving enough lift scraping the aft end of the fuselage on the runway before managing to get airborne. Flight data later revealed that the two aircraft were approximately 2.2 to 2.6 miles apart when the JetBlue Airbus A320 commenced its climbing right turn.[4]
After tailstrike the flight continued to climb which is not part of the standard procedure post suspected tailstrike. During the climb out no loss of cabin pressure was detected which gave the pilots the assumption the flight was ok to proceed as it otherwise would've indicated a fuselage/structure breach and subsequent damage. The pilots weren't aware that the tail strike had occurred until one of the flight attendants alerted pilots of loud scraping noises that were heard. The crew decided to make the decision to make an emergency descent to a safe altitude and then continue on with a diversion to a enroute airport as a precaution.[5]
Post Accident
[edit]NTSB Report
[edit]The NTSB’s findings explicitly pointed to "non-standard phraseology" from the King Air crew and "expectation bias" from the JetBlue crew as critical elements in the sequence of events. This demonstrates a direct failure within the decentralized communication system. The event highlights that even highly experienced pilots, like the JetBlue captain with over 11,000 flight hours, can be susceptible to critical misunderstandings when direct air traffic control oversight is absent. This situation is not merely a matter of individual pilot actions but points to systemic vulnerabilities that arise when large commercial aircraft operate in less controlled airspace alongside private aviation, where communication norms may differ.[6]
The NTSB's finding of "poor communication" was a direct consequence of these two factors interacting. The captain's surprise and "premature rotation" showed a reactive maneuver, indicating the sudden shock and the crews being forced into emergency, high-stress decision-making, rather than allowing for planned, controlled operations. The King Air's informal warning, "I hope you don't hit us," served as a last-ditch, non-standard advisory, further underscoring the breakdown in established communication protocols.[6]
JetBlue initiated new training for pilots specifically addressing operations at non-towered airports following this incident.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Accident: Jetblue A320 at Hayden on Jan 22nd 2022, tail strike on takeoff, B350 on short final in opposite direction". avherald.com. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A320-232 N760JB Hayden-Yampa Valley Airport, CO (HDN)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Accident to the Airbus A320 registered N760JB operated by Jetblue on 22/01/2022 at Denver". bea.aero (in French). Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ 2023-12-13T22:57:00+00:00. "JetBlue 2022 tail strike caused by pilots taking off too soon to avoid collision". Flight Global. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Richard, Lawrence (December 15, 2023). "Planes narrowly avoid collision on runway in Colorado after pilot's last-second maneuver: video". FOXBusiness. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c Sathya, Silva (December 12, 2023). Aviation Investigation Final Report (Report). NTSB.
{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)