West Air Sweden Canadair CRJ-200PF plane crash
Akkajaure, Sweden
Updated on
The Canadair CRJ-200 operated by West Atlantic Sweden took off from Oslo, Norway, for a cargo flight to Tromso, Norway. Two crewmembers were onboard. The plane was enroute at FL 330 (33,000 ft or 10km) when it vanished from radar. The plane crashed on the side of a mountain northwest of Lake Akkajaure about 10km from the border to Norway in mountainous area without road access, about 1000 meters above sea level. Both crewmembers were killed.
The jet was operating a cargo flight with 4.5 tons of mail and parcels. It took off uneventfully and reached its cruise altitude. A few minutes later, while the plane was enroute at FL330 about 75nm west of Kiruna (Sweden) in the border region between Norway and Sweden, the crew declared emergency. The aircraft disappeared from radar immediately thereafter.
The crash site is very small, overall diameter being 50 meters, and is evidence of a high energy impact, suggesting the aircraft came down near vertical.
The weather conditions weren't harsh at the time of the accident.
