Værøy Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Værøy Airport
nativename = Værøy lufthavn
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type = Public
owner =
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owner-oper = Luftfartsverket
city-served = Værøy
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elevation-f = 12
elevation-m = 3.7
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metric-elev = 1
metric-rwy = 1
r1-number = 03/21
r1-length-f =
r1-length-m = 800
r1-surface = Asphalt
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Værøy Airport ( _no. Værøy lufthavn) is a closed airport on the island of Værøy in Norway. It was used between 1986 and 1992 and operated by Luftfartsverket. It has been replaced with Værøy Heliport.

History

Flights to Værøy started in 1970, at the time operated by helicoper by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. In 1973 Widerøe took over the routes, using helicopers to both Værøy and Røst. On July 1, 1986 the new airport was opened with services by Widerøe using Twin Otter aircraft. However, regularity with the airplane route was lower than with helicopter.

On April 12, 1990 a Twin Otter from Widerøe bound for Bodø crashed into the sea approximately 1 minute after take-off from Værøy, killing all 5 on board. The Accident Investigation Board found that the cause of the crash had been strong and unpredictable wind gusts during take-off, which had exceeded the plane's limits and created a break-up in the plane's tail rudder, so the plane became uncontrollable. It had been known that there were dangerous and unpredictable wind conditions at the airport because of its proximity to the steep mountains on the island, and there had been particular wind limitations in place for the airport before the accident happened. Pilots often mistrusted the wind data they were given because the wind would vary within the airport area, and they wanted to avoid landing on the airport when the wind conditions were difficult. Værøy Airport was closed in 1992, and a new, permanent heliport was opened in 1997.