Widerøe Flight 933
Encyclopedia
On 11 March 1982, Widerøe Flight 933, a Widerøe
Twin Otter, registration number LN-BNK, on a flight from Berlevåg Airport
to Mehamn
crashed into the Barents Sea
near Gamvik
, killing all fifteen on board. More than twenty years and four rounds of investigation later, this incident remains highly controversial in Norway
. While all official investigations concluded that the crash resulted from structural failure of the aircraft's tail caused by severe clear-air turbulence
, some claim that LN-BNK was damaged by collision with an RAF Harrier jet flying outside its designated operations area during a NATO exercise. This would have been particularly embarrassing considering Norway's policy not to operate military aircraft east of the 24th meridian
, to minimize the risk of costly misunderstandings with the Soviet Union
. It has been claimed that Norwegian authorities regularly turned a blind eye to violations of this and other policies by NATO aircraft (including American B-52 and U-2
aircraft) based in Northern Norway during the cold war.
Evidence of a collision is thin. British Harriers did operate in Northern Norway at the time (though not beyond 24°E), and one made an emergency landing at Bardufoss around the time LN-BNK crashed. Considering the distances involved and the time of its landing (several hours after the crash), it is very unlikely that it was anywhere near Mehamn when LN-BNK crashed, but proponents of the collision theory claim the ATC logs were forged as part of the cover-up.
Over the years, eyewitnesses' recollections were further muddled by conflation with other events, such as a near-miss between a Twin Otter and a RNoAF CF-104 Starfighter involved in the search for LN-BNK, and an incident two years later where two RAF Harriers entered the no-fly zone. During the 2003 investigation, one witness clearly recalled seeing the purported collision on radar
; it was later revealed that he could not possibly have been present at the time, as he did not start working as an air traffic controller
until several months after the crash.
In November 2002, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation produced and broadcast a strongly pro-collision documentary which was instrumental in re-opening the investigation. The outcome of that investigation was essentially the same as that of the previous three. They found no evidence of any collision, and NRK was strongly criticized for giving in to sensationalism and failing to thoroughly verify their sources.
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...
Twin Otter, registration number LN-BNK, on a flight from Berlevåg Airport
Berlevåg Airport
Berlevåg Airport is a regional airport serving Berlevåg in Finnmark, Norway. In 2005 Berlevåg Airport had 4,264 passengers. It is operated by Avinor.-Service:...
to Mehamn
Mehamn
Mehamn is a village in the Gamvik municipality in the county of Finnmark in northern Norway. The village abuts the base of a small Vedvik peninsula, itself part of the greater Nordkinn Peninsula, at the southern end of Mehamn Fjord, a bay in the Barents Sea...
crashed into the Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
near Gamvik
Gamvik
is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Mehamn. The municipality of Gamvik was separated from Tana on 1 July 1913....
, killing all fifteen on board. More than twenty years and four rounds of investigation later, this incident remains highly controversial 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...
. While all official investigations concluded that the crash resulted from structural failure of the aircraft's tail caused by severe clear-air turbulence
Clear-Air Turbulence
Clear air turbulence is the turbulent movement of air masses in the absence of any visual cues such as clouds, and is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet....
, some claim that LN-BNK was damaged by collision with an RAF Harrier jet flying outside its designated operations area during a NATO exercise. This would have been particularly embarrassing considering Norway's policy not to operate military aircraft east of the 24th meridian
24th meridian east
The meridian 24° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
, to minimize the risk of costly misunderstandings with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. It has been claimed that Norwegian authorities regularly turned a blind eye to violations of this and other policies by NATO aircraft (including American B-52 and U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
aircraft) based in Northern Norway during the cold war.
Evidence of a collision is thin. British Harriers did operate in Northern Norway at the time (though not beyond 24°E), and one made an emergency landing at Bardufoss around the time LN-BNK crashed. Considering the distances involved and the time of its landing (several hours after the crash), it is very unlikely that it was anywhere near Mehamn when LN-BNK crashed, but proponents of the collision theory claim the ATC logs were forged as part of the cover-up.
Over the years, eyewitnesses' recollections were further muddled by conflation with other events, such as a near-miss between a Twin Otter and a RNoAF CF-104 Starfighter involved in the search for LN-BNK, and an incident two years later where two RAF Harriers entered the no-fly zone. During the 2003 investigation, one witness clearly recalled seeing the purported collision on radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
; it was later revealed that he could not possibly have been present at the time, as he did not start working as an air traffic controller
Air traffic controller
Air traffic controllers are the people who expedite and maintain a safe and orderly flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. The position of the air traffic controller is one that requires highly specialized skills...
until several months after the crash.
In November 2002, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation produced and broadcast a strongly pro-collision documentary which was instrumental in re-opening the investigation. The outcome of that investigation was essentially the same as that of the previous three. They found no evidence of any collision, and NRK was strongly criticized for giving in to sensationalism and failing to thoroughly verify their sources.