What happened
On a scheduled flight from Røst airport to Bodelse, a Dornier 228-20 with registration LN-HTA encountered severe weather conditions during its approach to Bodø airport. As the aircraft approached the destination, intense lightning activity emerged alongside strong westerly winds. During this period, the aircraft was struck by a powerful lightning bolt that traveled from the nose to the tail section.
The electrical discharge caused significant damage to the aircraft's control systems. Specifically, the strike burned through connections between the fuselage and the tail surface, as well as a wire connecting the tail surface to the elevator. The surge of energy through the elevator rod caused a rod end to detach, severing the mechanical link between the cockpit control column and the elevator. While the crew experienced temporary blindness for roughly 30 seconds and the aircraft nearly stalled, they were able to use the electric pitch trim to maintain limited nose position control.
Following the declaration of an emergency, the crew attempted to land the aircraft. The initial landing attempt was characterized by high airspeed, causing the aircraft to bounce upon a three-point touchdown. Due to the lack of elevator functionality, the crew aborted the landing. A second approach was also unstable regarding altitude and speed. During the final moments of the second approach, the aircraft's nose dropped, and despite an attempt to flare, the plane struck the ground a few meters before the runway threshold and slid onto the runway surface.
Findings
Following the impact, emergency responders attended the scene. The incident resulted in two serious injuries to the pilots and minor injuries to the two passengers. There was no fire or fuel leakage reported, though the aircraft was determined to be a total loss. The primary cause of the landing instability was the loss of elevator control due to lightning-induced structural and electrical damage.