UPDATE: 2022/04/12 10:47 EST BY JOANNA BAILEY

Statement from TAP

Following publication of the article, Simple Flying has received the following email from the airline regarding the incident:

TAP’s flight Lisbon - Copenhagen TP754, aborted the landing while already in the runway approach phase, due to technical reasons.Some news about this event refer that ground witnesses reported the aircraft struck its left wing onto the runway, it even appeared the left-hand engine(CFM56) made contact with the runway, turned to the left, nearly collided with an antenna”.TAP is fully collaborative with investigation authorities to identify possible causes to enhance safety. We don’t have any report with damage in any part of the aircraft related with ground contact. Regarding trajectory and flight parameters, flight data will be analyzed during safety investigation process.At this stage, it’s too early to jump to conclusions before the end of the investigation.In a second approach, the A320 aircraft landed safely at Copenhagen airport, with the passengers on board disembarking with complete normality. Technical checks were properly carried out on the plane, that is already released, and the aircraft is flying back to Lisbon today.

In addition, the Aviation Herald has updated its coverage stating that:

On Apr 11th 2022 Denmark's Havarikommissionen (HCL, Danish Accident Investigation Board) reported they rated the occurrence a serious incident and opened an investigation. Preliminary results suggest there was no abnormal ground contact like wing or engine pod strike, and the aircraft remained undamaged. The HCL subsequently clarified that there are no visual indications or marks indicating the wing or engine made ground contact.

Simple Flying will report back on the outcome of this incident once investigations are concluded.

While attempting to land at Copenhagen Kastrup Airport on April 8, a TAP Air Portugal Airbus A320 initiated a go-around. The aircraft then circled around and landed on a different runway about 20 minutes later.

The Airbus A320-214, registered CS-TNV, left Lisbon's Humberto Delgardo Airport (LIS) at 07:52 on TAP Air Portugal flight TP754, landing at Copenhagen Kastrup Airport (CPH) at 12:24.

While go-arounds happen frequently and are largely unreported, according to the Aviation Herald, this one was not routine. It was quite the opposite, and as it happened more than 72 hours ago, the scarcity of reporting is puzzling.

Potentially a scary 20 minutes

The report says the Airbus aircraft was attempting to land on runway 30 when, according to ADS-B data transmitted by the aircraft, it veered to the left.

Its speed over the ground reduced sharply from about 133 knots to around 120 knots, and the crew initiated a go-around.

The A320 did not initially pick up speed or climb, and with the airport perimeter and houses approaching, it began to climb slowly. Its speed reduced to 101 knots, and after crossing the first houses at just 300 feet AGL, it started picking up speed.

The aircraft climbed to 3000 feet before leveling off and positioning itself for an incident-free landing on runway 22L. It finally landed around 20 minutes after the crew initiated the go-around.

The Aviation Herald reports ground witnesses saying the aircraft's left-wing, and possibly also the left engine, struck the runway. They also say that as it veered left, the plane came perilously close to an antenna and buildings before it could climb out to safety.

Airport sources have reported the reverser on the left hand CFM56 engine has been damaged, supporting the claim it also struck the runway.

The aircraft was scheduled to operate the return flight to Lisbon, TP757, at 12:55, but that leg was canceled. A scan of flight data for the aircraft shows it has not operated since, and it's understood to be still at Copenhagen airport.

What's happened since Friday?

At the time of writing, there are no announcements of this incident on the websites of TAP Air Portugal, Airbus, Copenhagen Airport, or Denmark's Accident Investigation Board (AIB).

The TAP Air Portugal A320 carries around 178 passengers, who would have been aware of the incident and probably shaken up by what happened. Another group had their Lisbon flight canceled, so a few hundred people were directly affected by the incident.

The way the incident has been reported falls well within the European Union's definition of a 'serious incident.' Under EU and Danish aviation law, all serious incidents must be reported to the AIB within 30 minutes of their occurrence, and an investigation initiated.

An aircraft striking the ground with its wing tip and possibly its engine before coming close to airfield structures and residential houses is close to a very bad outcome.

In the last few days, Simple Flying has reported on the accidents of a DHL 757 in Costa Rica and an Aliansa DC-3 in remote Colombia. That's why it's puzzling so little is available on this incident in Copenhagen.

Source: The Aviation Herald