Norwegian Air jet overshoots runway; all passengers safe

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Airbus A380 | Airbus

By Sky Industry News

Dec 22, 2024

On December 19, a Norwegian Boeing 737-800, operating as flight DY430, experienced a runway excursion at Molde Airport in Norway. The aircraft came to rest about 50 feet from the water's edge of the Fannefjord. All 171 occupants were safely evacuated without any fatalities.

The flight carried 165 passengers and six crew members. It departed Oslo Gardermoen Airport at 6:02 p.m., running 47 minutes behind schedule. The aircraft reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet before descending towards Molde on a mostly direct route.

Weather conditions at Molde included winds from the West North West at 12 knots with light rain and snow showers. Runway 25, where the plane landed, has a displaced threshold of 328 feet and an available landing distance of 6,499 feet.

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The plane was cleared to land on Runway 25 and touched down around 7:03 p.m. However, it could not stop within the remaining distance and continued past the end of the runway before halting near the water's edge. Passengers evacuated via slides with no reported injuries. Emergency services responded promptly.

According to The Aviation Herald, Norway’s Accident Investigation Board verified that "when a Norwegian flight with flight number DY430 was landing at Molde Airport in a westerly direction, the aircraft entered a snow squall at an altitude of between 50 and 100 ft." They added that "after landing, the commander noticed that it was slippery and experienced that the aircraft had poor braking effect."

The aircraft involved is an eleven-year-old Boeing model previously operated by Garuda Indonesia before joining Norwegian's fleet in July 2022.

In related news, Norwegian has been expanding its network with new routes and has shown positive financial gains post-COVID pandemic challenges. According to AeroTime's November report, "capacity for Norwegian increased by 10% over the same month in 2023," indicating improved performance metrics for the airline.