Qualla: Wideroe Flight 744

Wideroe Flight 744: Introduction

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At 19:16:35 on October 27, 1993, the pilot of Wideroe Flight 744 called out a height of 150 meters. His first officer confirmed. Four seconds later, the captain said: 'We should not descend any further.' Nine seconds after that, the de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter struck a hillside at Berg in Overhalla Municipality, 6.15 kilometers short of Namsos Airport. Six of the nineteen people aboard died, including both pilots. None of the surviving passengers had sensed anything wrong until the moment of impact.

Read more: Wideroe Flight 744 on Qualla

Wideroe Flight 744: A Long Day on Short Routes

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The crew had started their duty at Bodo Airport at 1:30 in the afternoon, working a southbound chain of Norway's short-hop coastal airports: Sandnessjoen, Bronnøysund, Rorvik, and on to Trondheim. They had already skipped one stop at Mosjoen due to bad weather. After reaching Tro...

Read more: Wideroe Flight 744 on Qualla

Wideroe Flight 744: Into the Dark and the Wind

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The aircraft departed Trondheim at 18:37, climbing to a cruising altitude of 1,500 meters. Namsos reported winds from 250 degrees at 25 knots, gusting to 36. As the crew began their descent plan -- 1,200 meters, then 900, then a turn onto the localizer at 255 degrees, then down t...

Read more: Wideroe Flight 744 on Qualla

Wideroe Flight 744: The Hill at Berg

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

One young man, nearly unhurt, pulled himself from the wreckage and ran through sleet and rain to the nearest farm at Berg. 'The aircraft has fallen down,' he told the stunned residents. 'You must call for help.' Then he ran back to the crash site. The farm's three inhabitants wer...

Read more: Wideroe Flight 744 on Qualla

Wideroe Flight 744: A Battle Over the Black Box

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Twin Otter was not required to carry a cockpit voice recorder, but Wideroe had voluntarily installed one. That recorder became the center of a two-year legal fight. The Accident Investigation Board and the Norwegian Airline Pilots Association refused to share the CVR tapes wi...

Read more: Wideroe Flight 744 on Qualla

Wideroe Flight 744: Systemic Failure, No One Charged

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The final report, published on July 10, 1996, classified the crash as a controlled flight into terrain. It found no mechanical failure. Instead, it documented a cascade of procedural breakdowns: no callouts during the critical descent phase, a poorly timed base turn that left the...

Read more: Wideroe Flight 744 on Qualla