Boeing 737 incident near Portela, Pt, December 3, 2015
On December 3, 2015 at about 7:27 pm local time, a Boeing 737, registered PHHSG, was involved in an incident near Portela (Portela Airport). No one was hurt; 180 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
- December 3, 2015 · about 7:27 pm local time
- Place
- Portela, Portugal · Portela Airport
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 180 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737 8K2 · all 737s on the register
- Registration
- PHHSG · no longer on the register · serial 39262
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) has notified the NTSB of an incident involving a Boeing 737 airplane that occurred on December 03, 2015. The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to assist the DSB investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 as the State of Manufacturer and Design of the airplane. All investigative information will be released by the DSB.
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
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: LPPT Portela
- Destination: EHAM Amsterdam
- Runway 21, 12,484 ft by 148 ft
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 3 | |||
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 175 |
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.