Norwegian military surveillance plane makes emergency landing at Evenes

A Norwegian maritime patrol aircraft used to monitor Russian submarine activity has made an emergency landing at Evenes Airport in northern Norway, authorities confirmed on Thursday.

The Boeing P-8A Poseidon, which primarily conducts surveillance in northern waters, issued a distress signal before landing at 14:27 local time, according to Dagbladet, citing data from Flightradar24. Police in Nordland confirmed the emergency landing, stating that all emergency services had been dispatched to the scene.

Avinor, Norway’s airport operator, confirmed the aircraft was preparing for an emergency landing due to a technical fault. “They reported a malfunction on the aircraft,” press spokesperson Ylva Celius Trulsen told Dagbladet.

The Norwegian Armed Forces’ Operational Headquarters (FOH) later confirmed the plane had landed safely. “They issued a distress warning as a precautionary measure,” said FOH spokesperson Rune Haarstad. “There was a technical error onboard, so the crew prioritised landing and getting safely on the ground.”

Haarstad added that both the crew and aircraft were unharmed. The flight had been conducting routine training exercises before the incident.