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| Date: | Tuesday 11 March 2025 |
| Time: | 16:15 UTC |
| Type: |  Airbus A321-251NX |
| Owner/operator: | TAP Air Portugal |
| Registration: | CS-TJQ |
| MSN: | 9308 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2020 |
| Engine model: | CFMI CFM LEAP-1A32 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 199 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | E or Porto -
 Portugal
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Lisboa-Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS/LPPT) |
| London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
| Investigating agency: | GPIAAF |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
TAP Portugal flight TP1356, an Airbus A321-251NX, was involved in a fumes event while en route to London-Heathrow Airport. The flight diverted to Porto Airport (OPO). Nine passengers received medical attention for smoke inhalation.
At 16:20, already in Spanish airspace, the cockpit was notified by the cabin crew that one of the crew members performing duties at the rear of the aircraft was feeling nauseous.
Without any indication or hint of smoke or smells in the cockpit, the crew decided to maintain flight level 360 and wait 5 minutes to assess the situation.
Considering previous reports of smells (fumes) on the aircraft, during prior flights, and given that other cabin crew members confirmed similar symptoms, the flight crew decided to divert to Porto Airport (OPO), complying with the applicable QRH procedures of SMOKE / FUMES / AVNCS SMOKE, including the use of oxygen masks.
During the descent and already in contact with Porto, given that some passengers were reporting some
symptoms, it was decided to declare an emergency and request medical assistance on arrival, thus preempting any possible delays in the provision of these services.
Landing at Porto and disembarkation of passengers occurred uneventfully. Seven crew members and 2 passengers were transported to the hospital for medical evaluation.
The information which the flight crew possessed of previous problems with smells on the event aircraft was from the same day on the two flights prior. The aircraft had performed a flight between Lisbon and Funchal, and the presence of strange smells (dirty socks) was reported in the rear area of the aircraft.
Subsequently, maintenance services in Funchal carried out an inspection of both engines and APU without any
reported anomaly. On the following flight from Funchal to Lisbon, strange smells were reported during take-off, but they disappeared soon thereafter.
Between the occurrence on March 11th which resulted in an emergency landing in Porto and the return of the
aircraft to scheduled service on the morning of March 14th, the operator's maintenance services carried out
troubleshooting work on the reported anomaly, following the manufacturer's recommendations for the symptoms without any conclusive results. The operator carried out a positioning flight from Porto to Lisbon with technicians on board in order to try to isolate possible sources of odours, also without conclusive results. In Lisbon, a detailed borescope inspection was carried out of both engines and APU, without any indication of an anomaly of internal fluid leakage that could have contributed to a contamination of the pneumatic system. Several
decontaminations have been carried out on the pneumatic system and there are no reports of other events on the aircraft since its return to service.
Upon consulting the operator's occurrence database for the same aircraft, on November 11, 2024 there was
a water spill in the hold related with fish transportation. The corrective actions included cleaning the area, without removing the hold floor panels. According to the operator, the aircraft had not undergone any major maintenance activity with floor panels removal since the date of the water spill occurrence. It cannot be ruled out that the smell/fumes event on 11 March was originated, or that it may have been as a consequence, directly or cumulatively, of the November 2024 event.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.gpiaaf.gov.pt/upload/processos/d053936.pdf
https://sicnoticias.pt/pais/2025-03-11-aviao-da-tap-desviado-para-o-porto-apos-ser-detetado-fumo-a-bordo-0acc7864
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/cs-tjq#396fe991
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/TAP1356/history/20250311/1450Z/LPPT/EGLL
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Mar-2025 06:38 | ASN | Added |
| 12-Mar-2025 06:39 | ASN | Updated [Cn, Source, ] |
| 22-Apr-2025 06:52 | ASN | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative, ] |
| 25-Sep-2025 20:33 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Source, ] |
| 25-Sep-2025 20:34 | Justanormalperson | Updated |
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