Værøy Heliport
Encyclopedia
Værøy Heliport is a heliport
on the island of Værøy
in Nordland
county in Norway
. The airport had 8,372 passengers in 2005.
Scheduled helicopter services are provided by Lufttransport
on public service obligation
contracts with the Norwegian Government to Bodø.
to Værøy started in 1972. A new airport with 800 metres long runway opened on the north side of the island in 1986. The airport was served by Widerøe
, with flights to Bodø, Røst
and Leknes
.
On 12 April 1990 a Twin Otter from Widerøe bound for Bodø crashed into the sea approximately 1 minute after take-off from Værøy, killing all 5 on board. The Accident Investigation Board found that the cause of the crash had been strong and unpredictable wind gusts during take-off, which had exceeded the plane's limits and created a break-up in the plane's tail rudder, so the plane became uncontrollable.
It had been known that there were dangerous and unpredictable wind conditions at the airport because of its proximity to the steep mountains on the island, and there had been particular wind limitations in place for the airport before the accident happened. Pilots often mistrusted the wind data they were given because the wind would vary within the airport area, and they wanted to avoid landing on the airport when the wind conditions were difficult.
Værøy Airport
was closed in 1992, and a new, permanent heliport was opened in 1997. There are scheduled helicopter flights between Værøy and Bodø.
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
on the island of Værøy
Værøy
Værøy is an island and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Lofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sørland. Værøy was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
in Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
county in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The airport had 8,372 passengers in 2005.
Scheduled helicopter services are provided by Lufttransport
Lufttransport
Lufttransport is a Norwegian helicopter and fixed-wing airline that operates primarily air ambulance helicopters and planes for the Norwegian and Swedish governments...
on public service obligation
Public Service Obligation
In transport, public service obligation or PSO is an arrangement in which a governing body or other authority offers an auction for subsidies, permit the winning company a monopoly to operate a specified service of public transport for a specified period of time for the given subsidy...
contracts with the Norwegian Government to Bodø.
History
Scheduled helicopter flights from BodøBodø
is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...
to Værøy started in 1972. A new airport with 800 metres long runway opened on the north side of the island in 1986. The airport was served by Widerøe
Widerøe
Widerøe's Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a regional airline in Norway and part of the SAS Group. It operates a fleet of 34 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft , serving 41 domestic and 6 international destinations...
, with flights to Bodø, Røst
Røst
Røst is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Lofoten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Røst. Røst was separated from the municipality of Værøy on 1 July 1928.- Environment :...
and Leknes
Leknes
is a town and administrative centre of municipality Vestvågøy in the county of Nordland in North Norway. The town is situated in the geographical middle of Lofoten, approximately 68 km west of Svolvær and 65 km east of Å...
.
On 12 April 1990 a Twin Otter from Widerøe bound for Bodø crashed into the sea approximately 1 minute after take-off from Værøy, killing all 5 on board. The Accident Investigation Board found that the cause of the crash had been strong and unpredictable wind gusts during take-off, which had exceeded the plane's limits and created a break-up in the plane's tail rudder, so the plane became uncontrollable.
It had been known that there were dangerous and unpredictable wind conditions at the airport because of its proximity to the steep mountains on the island, and there had been particular wind limitations in place for the airport before the accident happened. Pilots often mistrusted the wind data they were given because the wind would vary within the airport area, and they wanted to avoid landing on the airport when the wind conditions were difficult.
Værøy Airport
Værøy Airport
Værøy Airport is a closed regional airport on the island of Værøy in Norway. It was used between 1986 and 1990 and was operated by the Municipality of Værøy. It was plagued with low regularity caused by difficult wind conditions. Following the fatal Widerøe Flight 839 accident, the airport was...
was closed in 1992, and a new, permanent heliport was opened in 1997. There are scheduled helicopter flights between Værøy and Bodø.