Incident Overview
On 21 February 1989, a Boeing 737-200 operated by TAP Air Portugal, registration CS-TEL, was conducting flight TP 563 from Munich to Lisbon. The crew reported an emergency due to a fuel limitation. Lisbon Airport granted priority, and the aircraft landed without further incident.
Notification
The incident was notified by Lisbon Airport to the Gabinete de Prevenção e Investigação de Incidentes/Acidentes (GPI) of the Direcção-Geral da Aviação Civil (DGAC).
Investigation
The flight commander's report indicated that the emergency was declared because the aircraft was expected to arrive with "quite low fuel." However, TAP's Flight Safety Office provided information that the commander had misinterpreted the company's fuel policy, particularly regarding holding time. The DGAC noted that these explanations were contradictory.
Recommendations
The DGAC recommended that the Direcção dos Serviços da Navegação Aérea (DNA) review the fuel policy adopted by TAP and assess the measures taken to ensure correct interpretation by TAP pilots. Additionally, the same analysis was recommended for the fuel policy of AIR ATLANTIS.