All-Electric Plane Crash Lands In Blow To Norway's Aviation Strategy

 A big question mark hangs over Norway's desire to pursue electric aircraft after an all-electric two-seater plane was forced to crash into a lake earlier this week. The aircraft, owned by the Norwegian airport operator Avinor, was being used to showcase the opportunities of electric power in aviation.

Norwegian media have published photos showing the plane half submerged in water. Avinor CEO Dag Falk-Petersen was piloting the plane, along with Secretary of State Aase Marthe J. Horrigmo. He was also not injured in the incident.

The plane took off from Arendal Airport, about 285 km (177 miles) southwest of the Norwegian capital, Oslo. Falk-Petersen estimated that they were traveling at a speed of about 70 km / h (43 mph) when they hit the water.

PROMOTE

Civic Nation BRANDVOICE / payment program

The role of a mentor

UNICEF USA BRANDVOICE / payment program

The Covid - 19 Vaccine Market - by the numbers

Grads of life BRANDVOICE / payment program

Harnessing America's best-kept secret of the future of work

He described the experience to the Norwegian newspaper VG as dramatic: "we were heading towards the airport when there was a sign that something was wrong with the engine power. Then the engine power weakened and completely disappeared. I had to send mayday and try to find a place to land. There was a lot of forest there, but I came across a pond in which we landed."

Horrigmo added that he feared the worst, but praised Falk-Petersen, whose calm ensured that he did not panic.

Five spectacular Indian destinations that rival the Taj Mahal in beauty

Canada introduces more restrictions on international travel

How Portugal went from a Coronavirus success story to the epicenter

The Alpha Electro G2 (pictured above) involved in the accident is the first two-seater electric aircraft approved for commercial series production. Built by the Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel, the aircraft has a range of about 130 km (81 miles) with enough load for about an hour.

It is not yet known what caused the power loss, but the incident is sure to be a setback for Norway's electric aircraft plans.

Norwegian Electric Aviation Strategy

Last year, the Norwegian government asked Avinor to work with the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority to develop a plan to introduce hybrid commercial aircraft in Norway by 2040. Due to the mountainous nature of the country, road and rail transport takes a long time, so the country manages some of the busiest air routes in Europe between its major cities.

Norway is known as a world leader in electric cars, with more cars on the road per capita than any other nation. The government invested heavily in the necessary infrastructure. In recent years they have made it clear that they want to do the same with aviation, so much so that the national airline Widerøe predicted that the first electric aircraft will operate in Norway as soon as 2025.

Airbus and Scandinavian Airlines have begun a joint investigation into hybrid and electric aircraft and their infrastructure requirements. Rolls-Royce has established an electric motor unit in Trondheim, while OSM Aviation has entered into an agreement to purchase 60 electric aircraft.

Norway is also a world leader in the transition to battery technology in the shipping industry. A fully electric passenger ship already operates on the Nærøyfjord fjord, before the fjords become zero emission zones in 2026.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Halladay Survived Plane Crash -- Could Boaters Have Saved His Life?

 An autopsy on Roy Halladay, the retired Major League Baseball star who died last fall in the crash of his light sports plane, shows that the former athlete survived the accident in the Gulf of Mexico and died from drowning and blunt force trauma, according to an autopsy report. That Halladay, 41, did not die on impact but lived long enough for him to drown should prompt a reflection on the behaviour of boaters who arrived at the scene with cameras rolling but did not appear to have investigated whether the plane's pilot could have been rescued. The video shows that at least three ships were very close to the barely submerged plane some time before the Coast Guard arrived. A video shot by one of the boaters just before the crash, Halladay's plane is seen maneuvering at low altitude before it hits the water. The alarmed men then accelerate to the scene. Roy Halladay in Toronto in 2014 (Steve Russell / Toronto Star via Getty Images) Roy Halladay in Toronto in 2014 (Steve Russell ...
Read more

New Study Finds These Tropical Fish Can Live To Be Over 80 Years Old

 How long do fish live? 10 years? Twenty? Try more than 80 years, according to new research on snappers. Before now, the oldest known snapper was recorded at age 60, two decades younger than the findings recently published in the Journal Coral Reefs. Does this twenty-year age difference matter? According to fisheries scientist and lead author of the study, Dr. Brett Taylor, it matters quite a lot. Snappers serve as an important food source worldwide. Despite the importance of snapper, the global snapper fishery is largely poorly managed. This, combined with the high market value of some snapper species, led the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to officially label red snapper as "at risk" for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and market fraud in 2015. A close-up, side-angled view of a snapper. One of the two species of snapper (Lutjanus bohar) new research found that it is more than 60 years old - ... [ + ] BRETT TAYLOR Snappers wer...
Read more