Flight Details
The aircraft departed Tromsø-Langnes Airport at 2248 local time on an ambulance flight to Bardufoss, carrying one patient and three crew members. Four minutes after departure, at an altitude of 8,000 feet, the crew contacted Bardufoss control and obtained information for an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach to runway 29. At 2254, the crew was cleared to descend to 6,000 feet and instructed by ATC to report once established on the ILS.
Deviation from Approach Procedure
At about 22:57:50, while at a position approximately 8 nautical miles north of the Målselv (MLV) Non-Directional Beacon (NDB), the airspeed increased from 265 knots to 285 knots over a distance of about 5 nautical miles. This speed was maintained up to the NDB. At 22:59:30, the aircraft passed the MLV NDB. Instead of performing the left-hand procedure turn from 174° to 122°, the crew continued on a straight heading for about 30 seconds at an airspeed approximately 100 knots above the recommended approach speed. The aircraft was about 2 nautical miles (4 km) south of the established procedure pattern.
Terrain Collision
The aircraft should have remained at 6,000 feet until established on the ILS, but it had descended 1,250 feet below the minimum altitude when it collided with a relatively flat mountain ridge just south of the summit of Langfjelltind (elevation 4,935 feet). The wreckage was found about 35 km east-southeast of the airport. All four occupants were killed.
Probable Cause
The accident resulted in a controlled flight into terrain after the crew failed to follow the ILS approach procedure to runway 29.