norway helicopter crash near bergen kills at least 11

        norway helicopter crash near bergen kills at least 11

At 11:53 a.m., as the helicopter approached Sotra off the coast of Bergen, several witnesses observed the flight, stating that nothing was out of the ordinary. Just moments later, the main rotor of the helicopter detached, causing a sudden drop in speed and altitude, as confirmed by flight telemetry.

 With complete loss of control over the aircraft, it crashed on the islet of Skitholmen between the islands of Turøy and Toftøy at 11:54:35 a.m. local time and exploded on impact. Most of the wreckage then slid off the islet into the sea. The rotor came to rest several hundred meters away on the island of Toftøy. According to flight data, the time passed from the detachment of the rotor to the crash itself was only eleven seconds, with a dive of 640 metres (2,100 ft) during the same time span.The detached rotor was filmed spinning to earth shortly afterwards. During its final flight, the aircraft was carrying eleven passengers and two pilots. Authorities have confirmed that those on board were all Norwegian, except for one British passenger and one Italian crew member. No names have been released.