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| Date: | Sunday 9 March 1997 |
| Time: | 19:06 |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas MD-81 |
| Owner/operator: | SAS Scandinavian Airlines |
| Registration: | SE-DMX |
| MSN: | 48002/938 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 38547 hours |
| Cycles: | 36337 flights |
| Engine model: | P&W JT8D-200 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 156 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor, repaired |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Kiruna Airport (ESNQ) -
 Sweden
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN/ESSA) |
| Kiruna Airport (ESNQ) | |
| Investigating agency: | SHK |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
After a flight from Stockholm/Arlanda, the aircraft, operating as SAS flight 1042, was preparing to land at Kiruna Airport. The captain was the pilot flying, and the first officer acted as the co-pilot. As the aircraft approached Kiruna, the crew was informed that runway 21 was in use, with runway friction values of 0.36, 0.32, and 0.32 on 100% ice coverage, and that the runway had been sanded. The first officer established visual contact with the runway at about 500–600 feet above ground level.
During the approach, conditions were turbulent and there was heavy snowfall. The captain kept the aircraft crabbed into the crosswind and, just before touchdown, aligned it with the runway. The landing was made with the automatic braking system set to medium and the Anti-Skid System activated.
During reverse thrust after touchdown, the captain felt the aircraft yaw to the right. He then cancelled reverse thrust, corrected the heading, and applied maximum braking. Despite this, the aircraft began to drift toward the left edge of the runway, and the captain was unable to prevent it. About 1,500 meters down the runway, the aircraft slid off the left side and continued parallel to the runway for approximately 400 meters, coming to a stop in half a meter of snow.
The aircraft was evacuated using emergency procedures, and the crew estimated that the evacuation took 60–70 seconds. One elderly passenger sustained a shoulder injury and had to be carried out on a stretcher.
The investigation showed that deviations had occurred from both the airport’s regulations and rescue instructions, as well as from the airline’s operational procedures.
The accident was caused by the following main factors:
- Wind gusts, exceeding the average wind speed by more than 10 knots, were not reported.
- The recommended crosswind limit was exceeded.
- The aircraft touched down approximately nine meters left of the runway centerline.
- The runway friction was worse than reported.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
SHK
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Oct-2025 14:11 | ASN | Added |
| 30-Oct-2025 07:31 | ASN | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 30-Oct-2025 07:32 | ASN | Updated [Damage, ] |
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