Airbus A320-271N incident near Atlantic City, New Jersey, October 2, 2021
On October 2, 2021 at about 9:14 pm local time, a 2019 Airbus A320-271N, registered N922NK, suffered minor damage in an incident during takeoff near Atlantic City, New Jersey (Atlantic City International Ai airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 4 people had minor injuries; 108 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The ingestion of a bird into the right engine during the takeoff roll caused a fan blade to fracture near the blade platform resulting in high fan blade off loads and engine vibrations sufficient to result in an eventual failure of a fuel tube in the right engine that sprayed fuel onto hot engine cases, igniting an undercowl engine fire and triggering a rejected takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 2, 2021 · about 9:14 pm local time
- Place
- Atlantic City, New Jersey · Atlantic City International Ai · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 4 people had minor injuries; 108 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus A320-271N, built 2019 · all A320-271Ns on the register
- Registration
- N922NK · registry record · serial 9341
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Based on the bird remains and feathers collected and identified by Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Nature History Division of Birds - Feather Identification Laboratory, a male immature Blade Eagle was ingested into the right engine striking the fan and causing a single fan blade to fracture near the blade root; the fractured fan blade was contained by the fan case and the remaining fan blades exhibited a combination of leading and trailing edge, as well as blade tip, impact damage, tearing, missing material and bending in the direction opposite rotation. Upon further examination of the engine, it was discovered that two of the thermal management system (TMS) manifold lower aft mounting bracket securing bolts had fractured in shear overstress allowing the bracket to swivel/rotate radially outward. This is one of three mounting brackets that secure the TMS manifold to the engine and prevents excessive moment of the TMS manifold during operation. Along with the broken/sheared TMS lower aft bracket bolts, a crack was visible on the CP-09 fuel line that initiated in fatigue; the CP-09 fuel line is attached to the TMS and contains high pressure fuel. The crack in the CP-09 fuel line was due to necking down of the material as the fuel tube bent and stretched (elongated) under the vibration/cyclic loads after the bird strike and not as a manufacturing issue. The TMS manifold lower aft mounting bracket securing bolts fractured due to the high impact and vibration loads because of the fan blade release after the bird strike. Subsequently the TMS manifold was allowed to move radially back and forward from the engine in response to the engine vibrations that were recorded on the flight data recorder to be in excess of the 10 cockpit units which is the highest value that the flight data recorder will record. The CP-09 fuel line flexed, bent, and stretched under the cyclical radial motion of the TMS manifold until it cracked due to fatigue spraying high pressure fuel onto the hot engine cases igniting an undercowl fire. An immature male Bald Eagle has a mean mass of about 4,130 grams (g) (9.1 lbs.). The Federal Aviation Administration large bird ingestion certification test bird weight requirement was 2.75 kilograms (6.05 pounds) for the size of the inlet throat area on the PW1127G-JM geared turbofan engine; thus, the incident ingested bird was larger than the certification basis for the engine.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Fire/smoke (non-impact) during takeoff (rejected takeoff)
- Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail during takeoff (rejected takeoff)
- Loss of engine power (partial) during takeoff (rejected takeoff)
- Engine shutdown during takeoff (rejected takeoff)
- Birdstrike during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Animal(s)/bird(s) › Effect on equipment
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine (turbine/turboprop) › Compressor section › Damaged/degraded
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant › Engine (turbine/turboprop) › Compressor section › Capability exceeded
The aircraft
- Seats: 190
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Iae PW1127G-JM (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Iae PW1127G-JM (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Spirit Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: ACY Atlantic City International Airport NJ
- Destination: FLL Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | 6 | ||
| Passengers | 3 | 102 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ENG22LA002.