Twin Otter aircraft tackle demanding Greenland glacier missions

Mbl.is reported that Norlandair pilots have spent the summer flying scientists and equipment to sites on Greenland’s ice sheet, where they installed and inspected weather and seismic instruments.

“Greenland always has a strong appeal,” said Kristinn Elvar Gunnarsson, a Norlandair captain. He said the mountains on Greenland’s east coast were not far from Iceland by air and that Icelandic flight services in the region had a long history.

In June, Gunnarsson and pilot Björn Jóhannsson spent 15 days in Greenland, flying from various locations onto the ice sheet. Working with Danish scientists, they used a Norlandair Twin Otter to install automatic weather stations and inspect existing equipment.

The flights departed from several locations, including Kangerlussuaq, near the middle of Greenland’s west coast. The crew also flew farther north and spent several nights camping at Summit, a scientific station located about 3,500 metres above sea level on the high plateau of the Greenland ice sheet.

On the east coast, they stopped at Young Sound, where Daneborg is located. The area has a Danish military base with a runway, while the Zackenberg research station lies farther into the fjord and is used by scientists from around the world.

Flights to the glacier sites often took one to two hours, followed by several hours on the ground before the return flight. The team worked through the locations one by one, and Gunnarsson said the operation went very well.

Glacier flying presents several challenges, including landings on snowfields at altitudes of around 10,000 feet. The air is often thin, requiring the aircraft’s engines to produce more power than they would at lower elevations.

Sunlight can also cause slush to form in the snow, preventing the aircraft from taking off. Because the Twin Otter has skis attached to its wheels, the crew may sometimes have to wait several hours until conditions are safe for departure.

In the latter part of August and the first days of September, Gunnarsson and Jóhannsson returned to Greenland for an 11-day mission, stopping first in Kulusuk and later at Constable Point.

Constable Point is on Greenland’s east coast, on Jameson Land beside Scoresby Sound. The fjord extends about 350 kilometres inland and is surrounded by steep mountains and ice fields.

On that trip, the pilots worked with American scientists who were installing seismometers at locations on the ice sheet. The flights from the airfield to the designated measurement points often took about two hours.

Gunnarsson said experience in Greenland was valuable when assessing the condition of the ice sheet, including the snow surface and the possibility of hidden crevasses.