Widerøe Flight 710

Widerøe Flight 710 was a regional flight operated by Widerøe along the Norwegian coastline between Trondheim and Bodø with intermediate stops at Namsos, Brønnøysund and Sandnessjøen. On 6 May 1988 the flight, operated by a de Havilland Canada de Havilland Canada Dash 7 aircraft (registration LN-WFN) crashed in fog into nearby Torghatten mountain on landing, en route from Namsos to Brønnøysund Airport, Brønnøy at Brønnøy, Norway, killing all thirty-six passengers and crew. It remains the worst accident involving a Dash 7.^[1][2] The flight was delayed and fully loaded when it left Trondheim due to a technical problem with an earlier flight. Even a jumpseat in the cockpit was occupied by a passenger. After the intermediate landing at Namsos, the plane was no longer full, but a passenger remained in the jumpseat, and the cockpit voice recorder picked up conversation between the passenger and pilot.

The report from the aviation accident commission found that the plane had descended about four nautical miles too early. No fault with the plane itself was found.^[2]

References