Airbus A320 incident near Cortez, Colorado, November 6, 2009
On November 6, 2009 at about 4:34 am local time, a Airbus A320 (powered-lift aircraft), registered CFKOJ, was involved in an incident during enroute near Cortez, Colorado. It was flown under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the ACA795 flight crew to monitor and/or switch to the appropriate air traffic control frequency.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 6, 2009 · about 4:34 am local time
- Place
- Cortez, Colorado · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Airbus A320 211 · all A320s on the register
- Registration
- CFKOJ · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Air Canada flight 795 departed Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Canada, at approximately 2010 eastern standard time on a non-stop flight to Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California. At 2115 Mountain Standard Time, the flight crew checked in with Denver Center while at FL360. Aircraft radios were configured COMM1 on ATC frequency (ZDV) and COMM2 on 121.5 MHZ. At 2134 ZDV radar sector 37 directed the crew to contact ZDV on frequency 132.87; however, they did not respond. The flight was without radio contact (NORDO) for 37 minutes in ZDV and Los Angeles Center airspace. Communications were reestablished with the ZDV R24 controller via air to air relay with N613WF, at FL490. ACA flight 795 was then directed to contact Los Angeles ARTCC on frequency 127.35. According to the Federal Aviation Administration's preliminary pilot deviation report, after landing the pilot of the incident flight called the ZDV Operations Manager-in-Charge and explained that they were receiving static on emergency frequency 121.5 and had turned the volume down. The pilot also stated that they had received Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) messages after they had contacted ZLA.
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
- Comm system malf/failure during enroute
- Air traffic event during enroute defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › Lack of communication › Flight crew
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › Following instructions › Cabin crew
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: YYZ Toronto at 1:10 am
- Destination: lax Los Angeles CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.