Qualla: 2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 Crash

2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 Crash: Introduction

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At 14:56 on 15 March 2012, civilian radar at Kiruna registered a Norwegian military aircraft at 7,200 feet, just west of the 6,950-foot peaks of Kebnekaise. Military radar at Sorreisa, 130 kilometers away, showed 7,600 feet at roughly the same moment. Then the aircraft disappeared. The C-130J Super Hercules, serial number 5630, named Siv, had flown into the western face of Sweden's highest mountain. The impact triggered an explosion and an avalanche. All five Royal Norwegian Air Force officers aboard were killed.

2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 Crash: Cold Response

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The aircraft had departed Evenes Airport at 13:40, bound for Kiruna Airport with an estimated arrival at 14:30. It was participating in Cold Response, a major NATO exercise that brought together forces from Germany, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and t...

2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 Crash: Into the Mountain

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Kebnekaise rises to 6,950 feet in the Scandinavian Mountains near Kiruna. The aircraft appeared to have flown straight into the edge of the western wall. According to police, the Hercules probably exploded on impact, scattering thousands of pieces of wreckage across the mountains...

2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 Crash: The Missing Maps

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The investigation, led by the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority with Norwegian participation, recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder in August 2012. Both were so badly damaged that they had to be sent to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in the ...

2012 Norwegian Air Force C-130 Crash: Five Officers

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The names of the five crew members were released on 16 March 2012, one day after the crash. They were all career officers in the Royal Norwegian Air Force, a small and tightly knit service. The loss hit the Norwegian military community hard. At Nikkaluokta, near the crash site, a...