What happened
The Catalina experienced a catastrophic failure while operating in the waters of Altafjorden, located off the coast of Alta. During the event, the aircraft sustained significant damage to its hull structure. This structural compromise led directly to the loss of buoyancy and control, causing the plane to crash into the water and subsequently sink.
Findings
Investigation into the incident identified two potential primary causes for the hull damage that precipitated the accident. The first possibility is that the aircraft executed a hard landing, which generated excessive stress on the airframe components. The second possibility suggests that the hull was compromised by a collision with a floating object in the water. Both scenarios resulted in the same fatal outcome: the breach of the hull integrity leading to the sinking of the aircraft.