What happened
Following several days of flight cancellations due to weather between Reykjavik and Vágar, an inbound flight attempted an approach to the Faroe Islands on 26 September. After previously diverting to Bergen, Norway, due to poor visibility, the crew attempted the landing as conditions appeared to improve slightly.
During the approach, the aircraft encountered heavy cloud cover and restricted visibility, which prevented the pilot from identifying the entrance to the fjord. The flight performed a holding pattern for 25 minutes near the MY NDB before beginning a descent. Approximately one minute into the descent, while flying at an altitude of 1,550 feet, the Boeing 737 (implied by context/type) struck the terrain on the slope of Mt Knukur, located a short distance from the airport. The accident resulted in 8 fatalities (one crew member and seven passengers) and 26 injuries.
Findings
The investigation determined that the aircraft began its descent procedure from a position that was not directly over the MY NDB. This deviation led to the flight path intersecting with the high terrain of Myggenaes at an altitude of approximately 1,500 feet. The primary factor for this error was interference from the aircraft's weather radar, which provided the crew with a false indication on the ADF that they had already passed the MY NDB.