Atlantic Airways Flight 670
Encyclopedia
Atlantic Airways
Flight 670 was a chartered flight between Stavanger Airport, Sola
and Molde Airport, Årø
with an intermediate landing at Stord Airport, Sørstokken
. At 07:35, on October 10, 2006, the aircraft, a British Aerospace 146-200, slid off the runway and burst into flames while landing at Stord
in Norway
.
, and one was a Dane. News reports first indicated that 13 people had been rescued. Later it emerged that only 12 people, among them the pilots, had been rescued from the fire and that four died - three Norwegian passengers and one Faroese flight attendant. The aircraft was one of several carrying construction workers for Aker Kværner
Stord to construction at Aukra
related to the Ormen Lange field.
The pilot of another Atlantic Airways flight which landed 20 minutes earlier did not report any unusual landing conditions at the airport though the runway was wet from rain. On September 2, about a month prior to this accident, an Atlantic Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Bergen Airport, Flesland
due to failure to extend the flaps. Although the flaps can be considered a part of the braking system, they are mainly used in the air, to increase lift to enable a lower flight and landing speed. The flaps failure in September 2006 was detected before the scheduled landing at Vágar Airport
as a part of the in-flight checks and the plane redirected to Bergen because its airport had longer runways, required for the higher expected landing speed. The same plane made a second emergency landing 3 days later in Bergen with the same problem. This plane was not the one involved in the accident in Stord. Failure to extend the flaps is a known problem of the BAe-146 and is avoided by adjusting the flaps mechanism precisely every two years and lubricating
it for every 10th flight. Apparently Atlantic Airways had problems with these adjustments in September.
The condition of the airport's fire station and control tower have also been criticized, and there was in fact a newspaper article, written hours before the crash, reporting that funding to upgrade the facilities had been denied.
The black box
es, the cockpit voice recorder
and flight data recorder
, both sustained serious heat damage in the fire, and it was feared they were so damaged that no data could be extracted from them. However, much of the data was still retrievable.
According to the Faroese newspaper Dimmalætting
, the aircraft was 20 years old, and was the first one purchased by Atlantic Airways in 1988. Early in the 1990s the same plane slid off the runway at Vágar Airport
, but nobody was injured. The reason for that accident was that the pilot had landed too far along the runway due to bad weather conditions.
At an international football match on October 11 between France
and the Faroes
, a minute's silence was held in memory of the dead.
On 17 January 2007, the readers of the Faroese newspaper Dimmalætting voted the two flight attendants, Maibritt Magnussen and Guðrun Joensen †, the Faroese persons of the year (ársins føroyingar).
failed to engage. Evidence from pilots and technical findings shows that the spoilers failed to reduce lift and thus reduced braking capacity. In addition water on the runway also reduced braking capacity. The plane did not have ground contact when the captain tried to release the flaps. The air brakes seem to have engaged properly.
The voice and flight data recorders contain information that confirms statements given by the pilot and eyewitnesses, that the spoilers failed to engage on touch-down at the short runway in Stord, Norway. Norwegian air-crash investigator Birger Andreas Bull explains that 30 minutes of the voice recordings could be heard, 1 hour of data from the day before could be saved from the flight data recorder, but only 12 seconds of the approach and 3 seconds right before the crash were recoverable. Bull said that even though it sounds like little information, it contains significant data about course, speed, motor settings and spoilers, among other technical information.
On October 25, 2007, Havarikommisjonen (Norwegian Accident Investigation Board) released a preliminary report. According to the report, burning fuel in the cabin was the main reason three passengers and one crew member died and six others were badly injured.
All six spoilers failed during landing, but it remains unknown why this happened. During landing, the rubber on the wheels "boiled"; pieces of the wheel rubber was found along the runway. It is believed that this may have happened as a result of the failed spoilers.
The pilot did not receive information that the runway was wet and it was therefore assumed it was dry. The weight of the airplane was within the allowed limit when landing on a dry runway, but was around 500 kg (1100 lb) too heavy for a wet runway. It is unknown what role this played in the accident. It is not known when the final report will be finished.
Atlantic Airways
Atlantic Airways is the national airline of the Faroe Islands, operating domestic helicopter services and international passenger services as well as search and rescue responsibilities from its base at Vágar Airport, on the Faroese island of Vágar...
Flight 670 was a chartered flight between Stavanger Airport, Sola
Stavanger Airport, Sola
Stavanger Airport, Sola is an international airport located in Sola, Norway, southwest of Stavanger. It is Norway's third-busiest airport, with both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter traffic for the offshore North Sea oil installations...
and Molde Airport, Årø
Molde Airport, Årø
Molde Airport, Årø is located in the city of Molde in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It serves Molde and the surrounding district of Romsdal. The airport sits about east of the city. After opening in 1972, services have been mainly to Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim...
with an intermediate landing at Stord Airport, Sørstokken
Stord Airport, Sørstokken
Stord Airport, Sørstokken is a municipal regional airport located at Sørstokken in Stord, Norway. Located from Leirvik, it is the only airport with scheduled services in Sunnhordland. The airport consists of a single asphalted long 15–33 runway. It is classified as an airport of entry.Danish...
. At 07:35, on October 10, 2006, the aircraft, a British Aerospace 146-200, slid off the runway and burst into flames while landing at Stord
Stord
Stord is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" - as it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas....
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Incidents
The aircraft had 16 people on board, 12 passengers and a crew of 4. Atlantic Airways chief Magni Arge said that eleven of the passengers were Norwegian and one foreigner. Three of the crew members were FaroeseFaroese people
The Faroese or Faroe Islanders are a Germanic ethnic group native to the Faeroe Islands. The Faroese are of mixed Norse and Gaelic origins.About 21,000 Faroese live in neighbouring countries, particularly in Denmark, Iceland and Norway....
, and one was a Dane. News reports first indicated that 13 people had been rescued. Later it emerged that only 12 people, among them the pilots, had been rescued from the fire and that four died - three Norwegian passengers and one Faroese flight attendant. The aircraft was one of several carrying construction workers for Aker Kværner
Aker Kværner
Aker Solutions ASA is a Norwegian multinational provider of services related to engineering, construction, maintenance, modification and operation of both large and small industrial facilities. The company, with roots back to 1841, has its headquarters in Oslo and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange...
Stord to construction at Aukra
Aukra
Aukra is a village and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the region of Romsdalen. The administrative centre is the village of Aukra....
related to the Ormen Lange field.
The pilot of another Atlantic Airways flight which landed 20 minutes earlier did not report any unusual landing conditions at the airport though the runway was wet from rain. On September 2, about a month prior to this accident, an Atlantic Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Bergen Airport, Flesland
Bergen Airport, Flesland
Bergen Airport, Flesland is an international airport located southwest of Bergen, Norway. Opened in 1955, it is the second-busiest airport in Norway, with 5,296,325 passengers in 2010. Flesland is operated by the state-owned Avinor...
due to failure to extend the flaps. Although the flaps can be considered a part of the braking system, they are mainly used in the air, to increase lift to enable a lower flight and landing speed. The flaps failure in September 2006 was detected before the scheduled landing at Vágar Airport
Vágar Airport
Vágar Airport is the only airport in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and is located east of Sørvágur. Due to the Faroe Islands' rather anomalous status, the airport is not fully subject to the rules of the European Union...
as a part of the in-flight checks and the plane redirected to Bergen because its airport had longer runways, required for the higher expected landing speed. The same plane made a second emergency landing 3 days later in Bergen with the same problem. This plane was not the one involved in the accident in Stord. Failure to extend the flaps is a known problem of the BAe-146 and is avoided by adjusting the flaps mechanism precisely every two years and lubricating
Lubrication
Lubrication is the process, or technique employed to reduce wear of one or both surfaces in close proximity, and moving relative to each another, by interposing a substance called lubricant between the surfaces to carry or to help carry the load between the opposing surfaces. The interposed...
it for every 10th flight. Apparently Atlantic Airways had problems with these adjustments in September.
The condition of the airport's fire station and control tower have also been criticized, and there was in fact a newspaper article, written hours before the crash, reporting that funding to upgrade the facilities had been denied.
The black box
Black box
A black box is a device, object, or system whose inner workings are unknown; only the input, transfer, and output are known characteristics.The term black box can also refer to:-In science and technology:*Black box theory, a philosophical theory...
es, the cockpit voice recorder
Cockpit voice recorder
A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...
and flight data recorder
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
, both sustained serious heat damage in the fire, and it was feared they were so damaged that no data could be extracted from them. However, much of the data was still retrievable.
According to the Faroese newspaper Dimmalætting
Dimmalætting
Dimmalætting is the oldest and largest newspaper of the Faroe Islands and is based in Tórshavn.The first edition of the Dimma, as it is commonly known, appeared on January 5, 1878. Today it has a print run of 8,500 copies and appears five days weekly...
, the aircraft was 20 years old, and was the first one purchased by Atlantic Airways in 1988. Early in the 1990s the same plane slid off the runway at Vágar Airport
Vágar Airport
Vágar Airport is the only airport in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and is located east of Sørvágur. Due to the Faroe Islands' rather anomalous status, the airport is not fully subject to the rules of the European Union...
, but nobody was injured. The reason for that accident was that the pilot had landed too far along the runway due to bad weather conditions.
At an international football match on October 11 between France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
and the Faroes
Faroe Islands national football team
The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association, the governing body for football in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and are the third...
, a minute's silence was held in memory of the dead.
On 17 January 2007, the readers of the Faroese newspaper Dimmalætting voted the two flight attendants, Maibritt Magnussen and Guðrun Joensen †, the Faroese persons of the year (ársins føroyingar).
Official Investigation
The initial findings of October 10, 2006, show that the spoilersSpoiler (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, a spoiler is a device intended to reduce lift in an aircraft. Spoilers are plates on the top surface of a wing which can be extended upward into the airflow and spoil it. By doing so, the spoiler creates a carefully controlled stall over the portion of the wing behind it, greatly...
failed to engage. Evidence from pilots and technical findings shows that the spoilers failed to reduce lift and thus reduced braking capacity. In addition water on the runway also reduced braking capacity. The plane did not have ground contact when the captain tried to release the flaps. The air brakes seem to have engaged properly.
The voice and flight data recorders contain information that confirms statements given by the pilot and eyewitnesses, that the spoilers failed to engage on touch-down at the short runway in Stord, Norway. Norwegian air-crash investigator Birger Andreas Bull explains that 30 minutes of the voice recordings could be heard, 1 hour of data from the day before could be saved from the flight data recorder, but only 12 seconds of the approach and 3 seconds right before the crash were recoverable. Bull said that even though it sounds like little information, it contains significant data about course, speed, motor settings and spoilers, among other technical information.
On October 25, 2007, Havarikommisjonen (Norwegian Accident Investigation Board) released a preliminary report. According to the report, burning fuel in the cabin was the main reason three passengers and one crew member died and six others were badly injured.
All six spoilers failed during landing, but it remains unknown why this happened. During landing, the rubber on the wheels "boiled"; pieces of the wheel rubber was found along the runway. It is believed that this may have happened as a result of the failed spoilers.
The pilot did not receive information that the runway was wet and it was therefore assumed it was dry. The weight of the airplane was within the allowed limit when landing on a dry runway, but was around 500 kg (1100 lb) too heavy for a wet runway. It is unknown what role this played in the accident. It is not known when the final report will be finished.
External links
- Plane overshoots runway, bursts into flames Aftenposten October 10, 2006, English article
- NTSB brief
- Airdisaster.com