2 weeks Ago By Tatenda Karuwa
A Frontier Airlines Airbus A321neo took damage to its nose landing gear after striking the runway hard while attempting to land in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 15. The incident resulted in the closure of the airport’s two runways, forcing inbound flights to land later than scheduled. The Frontier Airlines crew managed to bring the aircraft down without further incident, and passengers disembarked safely, with no injuries reported.
The incident is currently being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Hard Landing And Go Around The A321-200NX was operating Flight F93506 from Orlando International (MCO) to San Juan Luis Munoz International Airport (SJU). The flight departed Orlando at 19:15 and was scheduled to arrive in the Puerto Rican capital at 21:38 local time.
According to The Aviation Herald , the aircraft touched down hard on runway 10 around 21:40 and then performed a go-around. The aircraft left debris on the runway, and while climbing out, the left engine continuously emitted streaks of flames. Airport officials closed both runways, advising inbound flights that runway 10 had debris after the hard landing and that the Frontier crew would utilize runway 08 - the airport's second runway.
Meanwhile, runway 10 was inspected for debris. There were 228 people onboard, and upon landing, the passengers and crew disembarked safely. The FAA’s notice shows that there were no injuries in the incident.
In a statement sent to Simple Flying, Frontier Airlines said, “On the evening of April 15, Flight 3506 from Orlando to San Juan experienced a hard landing upon arrival. The aircraft landed safely, and there were no injuries to the passengers or crew. The incident is under investigation.
” A Two-Year-Old Airbus A321neo The aircraft operating the flight has registration N607FR. According to ch-aviation , it is 2.33 years old, having taken its first flight in December 2022 and then being delivered to Frontier that same month.
It has 240 seats, including 216 in economy and 24 in economy plus. N607FR is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW1133G-JM engines. Featuring a great white shark on its tail, the A321neo is one of many animal-themed aircraft in Frontier's fleet .
After climbing out of San Juan, the A321 circled over the airport several times before positioning for a low approach on runway 08. It eventually landed at 22:20, about 40 minutes after it first hit the runway. It vacated runway 08 and came to a stop on the parallel taxiway.
Images posted on social media show that the left nose wheel detached from the landing gear. Runway 08 was opened after the landing, while runway 10 remained closed for a more extended period. Flightradar24 shows that F93506 was the only flight that landed at San Juan airport between 21:37 and 23:37.
The A321 remained on the ground following the incident. Meanwhile, operations at the airport have returned to normal with flights utilizing both runways. According to Business Insider , Frontier Airlines offered the affected passengers $500 vouchers and refunds.
The United Airlines aircraft diverted to Dublin after a few hours of flight. Up To 131 Weekly Flights To San Juan According to data from Cirium , an aviation analytics company, F93506 is one of Frontier’s 29 weekly flights scheduled from Orlando to San Juan for April 2025. It is the airline’s busiest route to San Juan, with five daily flights on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays and three daily flights on the remaining days.
Utilizing its Airbus A320 family aircraft, the airline offers up to 6,600 seats per week each way. Frontier competes with Southwest Airlines (37 weekly), JetBlue (28 weekly), and Spirit Airlines (11 weekly) on the route. In total, Frontier has about 20 nonstop routes to San Juan, offering approximately 131 weekly flights .
Newark-San Juan and New York (JFK)-San Juan are the second most served routes, with 14 weekly (two daily) flights. The airline also flies 13 times weekly from Philadelphia, eight times from Miami and Punta Cana, and seven times from Cleveland. Other routes are from Boston, Tampa, Atlanta, Santo Domingo, and other airports across the US and the Caribbean .
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