TAP Pilots requested quick landing amid misunderstanding with French Air Traffic Control about ‘toilets not operational’.
Pilots of a flight from Lisbon, experiencing lavatories problems, were requesting a quick approach to Nice but French controllers never understood what the problem was.
The exact date is unknown but the video refers to the TAP flight TP484 which departed Lisbon, Portugal to Nice, France.
According to video, the pilots of the Embraer 190 or 195 were forced to request a “short approach” from air traffic controllers, as they neared their destination, due to non-functional lavatories on board.
A Quiet Problem Becomes Pressing
Roughly halfway through the two-hour flight, the crew discovered that none of the aircraft’s lavatories were operational.
As the aircraft approached French airspace, the flight crew contacted Marseille Area Control Center and later Nice Approach to request an expedited descent and direct routing into Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. The intention was clear: reduce the time in the air to minimize passenger discomfort and avoid an onboard hygiene issue. However, the reason behind the request wasn’t fully grasped by the controllers.
“Say Again, What’s the Problem?”
According to ATC audio, the female pilot attempted to explain many times that the aircraft had a “lavatory malfunction” and needed a short approach but the French controllers repeatedly asked the pilots to clarify.
No Mayday, no PAN PAN
At one point, the conversation became slightly circular, with the pilots attempting to diplomatically press for a direct route maintaining high speed until reaching 10,000 feet, while the controller keeping asking if they wanted to declare an emergency.
Then the controllers can be heard talking in French about the issue, misunderstanding “pilots are inoperative or autopilot issue… I don’t know”. Then a controller asks “please confirm, you have autopilot out of work?”, the pilot responded “no sir, autopilot is working properly, our problem is with the toilets”. Then then controller continues “your pilot has a medical problem?”… Until the ATC center then emits an alert.
Safe Touch Down
The aircraft landed safely in Nice a few minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival time. Maintenance crews later confirmed that the lavatory system had experienced a fault that disabled both front and rear toilets.
“Toilets” and “Pilots” can sound similar?
Both are two-syllable words and both end with a similar sound (-ts). We have to keep in mind that the beginning sounds can easily be distorted by background noise or poor transmission quality.
The Portuguese pilot kept using the word “toilets” and should have used alternative expressions like “lavatories, bathrooms, restrooms — none of them are working.” However the same word exist in French: “toilettes”.
