What happened
Shortly after departing from runway 25 at Værøy Airport, an aircraft entered a period of uncontrolled descent. The incident occurred less than two minutes into the flight while the plane was climbing through marginal weather conditions. During the ascent, the aircraft performed a left bank before plummeting in a near-vertical attitude. The impact took place in the sea, approximately 1.8 km away from the airport.
At the time of the initial ground operations, wind gusts were recorded at 57 knots, exceeding the maximum permitted limit for such maneuvers by 7 knots. Following the takeoff, the aircraft encountered wind gusts of 34 knots, which surpassed the maximum allowable limit for flight operations by 14 knots. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and five fatalities.
Findings
Investigation into the crash determined that the extreme wind components led to a failure of the stabilizers and elevator. This mechanical failure directly caused the aircraft to lose control and enter its final descent.