Airbus Industrie A310 incident near Santa Maria, PO, January 28, 2007
On January 28, 2007 at about 11:03 pm local time, a Airbus Industrie A310 was involved in an incident near Santa Maria. It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. No one was hurt; 190 people were on board or involved.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 28, 2007 · about 11:03 pm local time
- Place
- Santa Maria, PO
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 190 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A310
- Registration
- not recorded
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On January 28, 2007 at 2303 UTC, SATA International flight RZO-128, Portuguese registration CS-TSM, Airbus A310, experienced an uncommanded extension of a flight spoiler during cruise flight. The 9 crewmembers and 181 passengers were not injured. The aircraft was not damaged. The flight departed Ponta Delgada, Azores (LPPD) and the destination was Lisbon, Portugal (LPPT). The aircraft was en route at FL 380 and after passing waypoint "BELKIN", the number 6R spoiler extended and remained so even after the Abnormal Checklist Actions had been performed. The Automatic Pilot (AP) disengaged and the aircraft became difficult to control. The crew flew the airplane manually until reaching a lower altitude, when the AP was reengaged with the CWS. The flight was diverted to Santa Maria and landed without incident. The incident was investigated by the Portuguese Cabinet of Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft (GPIAA).
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Sata International
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 9 | |||
| Passengers | 181 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.