A TAP Air Portugal flight bound for Lisbon scraped its tail along the runway at Rome's Fiumicino Airport on May 19, forcing the crew to circle over central Italy for nearly an hour to burn off fuel before returning safely. The incident, involving a 20-year-old Airbus A320, underscores the operational risks inherent in commercial aviation. All passengers and crew emerged unharmed and continued to Lisbon on a replacement aircraft.
Why This Matters
The Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo (ANSV), Italy's flight safety agency, dispatched an investigator to assess the aircraft damage. Tail strikes represent a fraction of commercial aviation incidents globally—roughly 50 per year across major international carriers—but they warrant careful investigation given their potential for serious consequences if repairs are inadequate.
The CS-TNX aircraft remains grounded pending structural evaluation. Historically, improper repairs after tail strikes have led to catastrophic failures, which is why modern inspection protocols are far more rigorous than decades past.
What Happened Over Rome
The morning departure from Fiumicino's runway 25 took a turn when the rear fuselage of the A320 dragged across the tarmac during the rotation phase of takeoff. Witnesses reported visible scrape marks left on the runway surface as the plane climbed away.
Rather than continue the 1,500-kilometer journey west to Lisbon Portela Airport, the flight crew halted their ascent at 4,000 feet and entered a holding pattern over the coastal towns of Civitavecchia and Fiumicino. For roughly 40 minutes—between 11:50 a.m. and 12:33 p.m. local time—the aircraft circled to reduce its weight through a procedure known as fuel dumping or fuel burn, essential for preventing structural damage during landing with excess weight.
The plane touched down safely on runway 16L at 12:40 p.m., just over an hour after its initial departure.
The Investigation Unfolds
Italy's aviation safety authority moved quickly. An ANSV investigator arrived at Fiumicino to collect physical evidence from the runway, inspect the aircraft's tail section, and interview the flight crew. The agency will analyze flight data recorders, cockpit voice recordings, and weather conditions to determine the precise cause.
TAP confirmed the event to Italian media, stating that "the aircraft returned shortly after to the airport of departure to allow the necessary checks for possible damage, landing safely." The airline added that passengers would be rebooked on another aircraft "as quickly as possible."
The A320 involved, registered as CS-TNX, has been in service for two decades. The Airbus A320 remains one of the most frequently operated commercial aircraft globally, with an excellent safety record. TAP has not released the exact passenger count aboard flight TP831.
What This Means for Portugal Residents
For Portugal-based travelers who regularly fly TAP routes across Europe, this incident highlights the importance of understanding your passenger rights. The Rome-Lisbon route operates multiple times daily, with TAP and other carriers (including Alitalia and budget airlines) offering alternatives if disruptions occur.
If you hold a booking on a TAP flight and experience a delay due to an aircraft swap following a technical incident, EU regulation 261/2004 may entitle you to compensation if the delay exceeds three hours. However, the key question is whether the incident qualifies as an "extraordinary circumstance." Mechanical safety incidents—particularly those requiring immediate investigation—typically do exempt airlines from compensation obligations. That said, airlines must still provide meals, refreshments, communication access, and rebooking at no extra cost regardless of compensation eligibility.
Practical tip for travelers: If you're delayed on a TAP flight, document the reason provided by the airline in writing. If it's classified as a safety issue, compensation may not apply, but if it's classified as maintenance (a different category), you may have stronger grounds for a claim.
Why Tail Strikes Happen
Tail strikes typically occur during takeoff rotation (when pilots pull the nose up) or landing approaches. During takeoff, raising the nose too aggressively can cause the tail to contact the runway. During landing, factors like unstable approaches, crosswinds, or attempting to touch down too close to the runway threshold increase risk. Weather conditions and crew fatigue can also play a role in these incidents.
Modern aircraft like the A320 include ground proximity warning systems and standardized procedures to prevent tail strikes, but human factors and occasional environmental surprises can still lead to incidents like the one in Rome.
What Happens Next
The ANSV investigation will take weeks or months to conclude. Authorities will examine all contributing factors, from crew performance to aircraft maintenance records to weather conditions at the time of departure.
Once findings are published, they will be shared with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to refine training protocols if needed.
For passengers originally booked on TP831, TAP arranged alternative transport to Lisbon the same day. The airline's passenger rights policy aligns with EU law, ensuring travelers were offered meals, communication access, and rebooking without extra cost.
The CS-TNX Airbus will remain on the ground until structural engineers clear it for service or determine repairs are uneconomical. Depending on damage severity, the aircraft could return to operation within days or be retired.
For now, the incident serves as a reminder that even routine flights carry inherent risks—and that the safety protocols designed to manage those risks, from fuel burn procedures to rapid regulatory response, largely worked as intended.
