Boeing MD82 incident near Cagliari Airport, It, May 28, 2009
On May 28, 2009 at about 5:49 am local time, a Boeing MD82, registered ISMEB, was involved in an incident during initial climb near Cagliari Airport (Cagliari Airport). It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
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
- May 28, 2009 · about 5:49 am local time
- Place
- Cagliari Airport, Italy · Cagliari Airport
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing MD82
- Registration
- ISMEB · no longer on the register · serial ASN 53064
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On May 28, 2009, at 5:49 UTC, a Meridiana Boeing MD82, registration number I-SMEB, was not able to pressurize the cabin after take-off from Cagliari Airport, Italy. The automatic standby pressurization system was not operative before the flight and after takeoff the flight crew could not get the automatic primary pressurization system or the manual pressurization system to engage. The flight crew elected to return back to Cagliari Airport. They landed uneventfully with no damage to the airplane or injuries to the passengers. A crew and passenger count was not provided. The Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo (ANSV) Italy is investigating this event as a serious incident. The NTSB has appointed a non-traveling US Accredited Representative and both Boeing and the FAA have been notified. For more information on this event, you can go to the ANSV Italy website: http://www.ansv.it/En/Index.asp.
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
What happened, in order
- Pressure/environ sys malf/fail during initial climb
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
The flight
- Departed from: LIEE Cagliari Airport
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under ISMEB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.