Aircraft Crash off Qaqortoq, Greenland: Pilots Rescued

Qaqortoq, South Greenland – A small aircraft crashed into the sea southwest of Qaqortoq around noon on Monday. Fortunately, the two pilots on board were quickly rescued, according to the Arctic Command (Arktisk Kommando).

In a Facebook post shared by Arctic Command on Tuesday, more details about the rescue operation were provided:

“Two units from Arctic Command undertook an exceptional effort yesterday to rescue two individuals after their aircraft had gone down in the sea,” Arctic Command reported.

The distressed aircraft, registered in Germany, was en route from Canada to Narsarsuaq in South Greenland when it issued a distress signal at 12:17 PM on Monday. A crew from a Challenger aircraft quickly located the plane’s position and observed its descent into the water. The two pilots then entered a life raft and were able to wave to the Challenger crew, who remained in the area to monitor the situation.

Simultaneously, the inspection vessel Triton headed towards the life raft, and within 30 minutes, the pilots were rescued into Triton’s inflatable boat.

“They are doing well. They were examined by the ship’s doctor on Triton, and then they went to the police station for questioning,” stated Annette Ostenfeldt, shift supervisor at the Greenland Police, to the local media KNR.

Arctic Command has no further comments on the incident or the ongoing investigation, but the operation is described as a “textbook example of excellent collaboration” between Arctic Command in Nuuk and the units deployed under their direction.