1975 Kjalarnes helicopter crash
Þyrluflug hf Sikorsky S-55B · Crashed due to wind conditions
From Reykjavík Domestic Airport (RKV) to Vegamót, Snæfellsnes, Iceland
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 7 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 7
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Charter & commuter
Sikorsky S-55B
- Aircraft type
- Sikorsky S-55
- Category
- Helicopter · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- TF-LKH
- Operator
- Þyrluflug hf
- Onboard fatalities
- 7
- Route
- From Reykjavík Domestic Airport (RKV)To Vegamót, Snæfellsnes, Iceland
Cause areas
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
The 1975 Kjalarnes helicopter crash occurred on 17 January 1975, when a Sikorsky S-55B helicopter crashed by the Hjarðarnes farm in Hvalfjörður, Iceland, while en route from Reykjavík Airport to Snæfellsnes. Seven people were on board, including two crew members and five employees of RARIK, the Icelandic State Electricity company. Everyone on board was killed on impact. It remains the deadliest helicopter crash in Icelandic aviation history.
Investigation and cause
Cause
The cause of the crash was ruled to be wind conditions at Hjarðarnes. The helicopter was also believed to have been overloaded but the investigative committee stated that the crash would have likely occurred even if it had been correctly loaded, a ruling confirmed by the Supreme Court of Iceland in 1983.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1975 Kjalarnes helicopter crash” (revision 1360036556, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 1975 Kjalarnes helicopter crash
- Revision
- 1360036556 · 2026-06-18 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q104776786
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "1975 Kjalarnes helicopter crash" (page 65253306, revision 1360036556)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- Reviewed correction (2026-09-26): A helicopter company's S-55 carrying staff of another organisation, the state electricity company: a helicopter service for hire. The article: "Seven people were on board, including two crew members and five employees of RARIK, the Icelandic State Electricity company"
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.