Report on serious aviation incident during landing in the Høgelifjell area in Kongsberg municipality, 4 January 2024 with a Bell 412 operated by the Norwegian Armed Forces

The helicopter was on a training mission in night conditions. The mission consisted of several elements and the incident occurred during a landing in snowy conditions. The helicopter started an unintentional drift that the crew did not detect just before landing. A contributing factor was the choice of visual references that were placed in such a way that the crew could not detect the drift. The pilot who flew the helicopter was undergoing training, and snow landings were one of the elements included in his training program. In addition, for a few seconds a situation arose in the cockpit where both pilots did not have the same situational awareness of who was in control of the helicopter and what the intention was. The helicopter landed without further issue.

The choice of references, including knowing whether the references are “good enough” is based on experience. The investigation has shown that the pilots at the squadron often only fly 1–2 sorties per week on average. Half of the time they fly, they have the role of co-pilot. Since extensive and varied training could increase the level of safety further, the current amount of training appears to be low. The NSIA believes that continuity in flight operations is important in order to be able to carry out safe and effective operations. It appears unclear whether there is a sufficient match between available resources and the expected mission set including both operational deliveries and force production.

The NSIA has investigated risk management relating to the mission and finds that the crew had implemented several measures to reduce the risk during the landing in question. Furthermore, the NISA has looked at the implementation of 339 SOAS' two-pilot concept. Room for improvement has been found and after the incident, 339 SOAS has revised its procedures to refine the two-pilot concept and extract the potential this provides for effective and safe operations.

This report is in Norwegian only. No safety recommendation is issued in connection with this investigation.

Published 19.03.2026