Incident Overview
The aircraft involved in the accident was carrying one passenger and eight crew members of the 333rd Squadron. The flight was on a mail dropping mission originating from Tromsø.
Flight Details
The mission included dropping mail at several locations in the Svalbard region: Bjørnøya Island, Isfjord Radio, Longyearbyen, Ny-Ålesund, and Hopen. All drops were completed without incident.
Accident Event
While returning to Tromsø, the pilot-in-command decided to perform a low pass over the Bjørnøya station. The aircraft was flying at an altitude of 40 meters in snowfall. During a right turn, the right wing struck the ground. The aircraft became uncontrollable and crashed, disintegrating in approximately one meter of snow.
Rescue
A radio operator was rescued from the wreckage. The other eight occupants died in the crash.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the accident was caused by the aircraft losing altitude through a sideslip, possibly due to the pilot losing spatial awareness in the poor visibility.