Frontier pilots landed A321 with partial instrument failure before runway brake fire

A faulty fan unit likely contributed to a brake fire and a “huge screen of smoke” that trailed a Frontier Airlines-operated Airbus A321 upon landing in Las Vegas earlier this month. That is according to a 28 October preliminary report by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which details investigators’ findings of the 5 October incident at Harry Reid International airport. Operating as flight 1326 from San Diego, the A321’s pilots were alerted by flight attendants to an unusual smell in the forward section of the aircraft as they prepared to descend into Las Vegas. ”The cabin crew described the odour as a chemical smell that was difficult to identify, and were unable to determine its source,” the NTSB says. ”Shortly thereafter, the captain and first officer detected an odour in the cockpit, which they initially described as chemical and acrid in nature, or mildew-like.” Soon, the smell became stronger and resembled ”burning rubber and/or petroleum products, such as plastics”, the pilots said. Donning oxygen masks, the pilots initiated a check-list in their quick reference handbook (QRH), noting that no smoke was visible in the cockpit and confirming with flight attendants that smoke was not visible within the cabin, though the “odour persisted”. At 14:51 Las Vegas time, the first officer declared an emergency with air traffic control (ATC) and requested a descent into Las Vegas. Aircraft systems degraded as the pilots proceeded through their QRH check-list, as they noticed autopilot and autothrottle features became unavailable. The first officer later said it was unclear whether these losses were the result of a possible fire or systems isolations performed as part of the check-list.<br/>