TAP A339 at Los Angeles on Oct 20th 2026, unexpected turn on initial departure

Last Update: November 5, 2026 / 19:22:45 GMT/Zulu time

Bookmark this article
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Oct 20, 2026

Classification
Incident

Airline
TAP Air Portugal

Flight number
TP-248

Departure
Los Angeles, United States

Destination
Lisbon, Portugal

Aircraft Registration
CS-TUS

Aircraft Type
Airbus A330-900

ICAO Type Designator
A339

A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A330-900, registration CS-TUS performing flight TP-248 from Los Angeles,CA (USA) to Lisbon (Portugal), was climbing out of Los Angeles' runway 24L when the aircraft after climbing through about 1000 feet began to sharply turn left and contacted departure. Departure immediatly instructed the aircraft to turn right back onto heading 250, which the aircraft did. After clearance to climb to 13000 feet departure instructed the crew to turn left to 090 degrees, however, the crew turned right and was stopped again by ATC, who queried whether they were okay. The crew confirmed they (and the aircraft) were okay. The crew said, they were given ORCKA Five Departure and were flying that departure, departure responded "not even close". The crew was instructed to turn left to 180 degrees, turned left and finally was sent on their way together with the instruction to call a phone number due to possible pilot deviation. The aircraft landed in Lisbon without further incident about 9.5 hours later.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Oct 20, 2026

Classification
Incident

Airline
TAP Air Portugal

Flight number
TP-248

Departure
Los Angeles, United States

Destination
Lisbon, Portugal

Aircraft Registration
CS-TUS

Aircraft Type
Airbus A330-900

ICAO Type Designator
A339

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source

You can read 2 more free articles without a subscription.

Subscribe now and continue reading without any limits!

Subscribe now
Are you a subscriber? Login
Subscribe

Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.

Compare our plans

Send tip

Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.

Send tip

Related articles

Newest articles

Subscribe today

Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.

Pick your plan and subscribe

Partner

ELITE Logo

ELITE Simulation Solutions is a leading global provider of Flight Simulation Training Devices, IFR training software as well as flight controls and related services. Find out more.

SafetyScan Pro

SafetyScan Pro provides streamlined access to thousands of aviation accident reports. Tailored for your safety management efforts. Book your demo today

AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320
Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American Airlines
United
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways