Widerøe Flight 839
Widerøe Flight 839, also known as the Værøy Accident (), was a de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter that crashed shortly after take-off from Værøy Airport in Norway. The incident occurred on 12 April 1990 at 14:44, killing all five people on board. The cause of the accident were strong winds that exceeded the structure's tolerance, causing the tail rudder and tailplane to crack so the plane became uncontrollable. Impact occurred 63 seconds after take-off and 8 seconds after the crack. The aircraft crashed into the water, and a search was conducted for several days to find the wreck. Uneven and strong winds had given the airport low regularity, and prior to take-off, wind speeds of had been recorded. The accident caused the airport to be permanently closed, and replaced by Værøy Heliport. The incident was investigated by the Accident Investigation Board Norway, which published its conclusions in 1991. Three years later, a new investigation was conducted, after an engineer had stated that the cause of the accident could instead have been fatigue. The second investigation came to the same conclusion as the first and all involved parties have since supported the causes made in the initial report. Accident Widerøe Flight 839 was a scheduled flight from Værøy Airport to Bodø Airport operated with a de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter. The aircraft had registration LN-BNS and serial number 536, and was delivered to Widerøe on 27 April 1977. It was insured with Norsk Flyforsikringspool. The aircraft left Bodø Airport at 13:36 as Flight 838 to Røst Airport, where it landed at 14:04. It continued to Værøy as Flight 839, leaving Røst at 14:14. During this flight the crew received information that the wind at the east end of the runway was from 270°, varying from —a moderate gale. When the plane landed at 14:30, the tower had stated that the wind was from 270° and max . The crew commented on the wind after landing, and stated that the wind blew from all directions. At Værøy Airport, three passengers disembarked, two passengers boarded and the plane fueled. There was also a passenger in transit from Røst to Bodø, so the total ridership was three passengers, plus the two pilots. Take-off weight was , including of fuel. The aircraft taxied to runway 25. During the departure briefing, the captain decided not to follow the company's standard procedure and have a climb at 320° instead of 280°. Maximum measured wind had been recorded at while the aircraft had been parked. The aircraft asked for clearance at 14:42:10; this was granted, and the air control informed that the wind at the west end was between 210° and 290°, varying from . The eastern wind was not communicated to the aircraft, but was 270°, varying from . The take-off started at 14:42:43 and the aircraft was airborne after having passed half the runway. Witnesses described that the aircraft after take-off climbed quickly, but then started falling, and then climbed quickly again. It then