Mayday mayday: Motor stop off Narsarsuaq

On Wednesday morning, an emergency situation arose when an American registered Piper 28 experienced engine problems while en route over the Davis Strait off Narsarsuaq and called mayday.

The brand new plane with the registration N993DX and two people on board had taken off from the Canadian town of Goose Bay and had Narsarsuaq as its destination, Naviair informs.

Shortly before N993DX entered Greenlandic airspace, Naviair's Flight Information Center (FIC) in Nuuk was notified that there were problems with the plane's engine - and that the pilot feared that it could develop into a critical direction.

The FIC therefore activated Naviair's Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) and also had a good dialogue with the Arctic Command, and it was decided that the Seahawk helicopter, which was on the inspection ship Thetis at Kangilinnguit, should be made ready. Thetis headed south so as not to waste time while the Seahawk was being made ready.

Engine stop

An hour after N993DX had entered Greenlandic airspace, a Mayday was called when the plane's engine stopped. However, the pilot managed to restart the engine.

For a short while, it seemed that the plane would land in Paamiut, but the pilot decided to set a course for Narsarsuaq anyway – and here everything went so well that the plane landed safely in Narsarsuaq a little after 11 a.m. Greenland time.

Although the defense Seahawk helicopter was not needed in this case, Naviair is glad that the helicopter got into the air.

The situation was in many ways reminiscent of a similar situation that occurred when a Piper plane had an engine failure over the Davis Strait 56 nautical miles southwest of Narsarsuaq on July 29, 2024. On board the plane were the pilot and a passenger. The engine failure resulted in an emergency landing at sea, where the two persons were quickly picked up from their life raft by a rubber dinghy from the Inspection Ship Triton, which happened to be in the area.

Rapid response

- When a situation like Wednesday's incident arises, it is crucial that the response is initiated quickly. Here, the cooperation between Naviair and Arctic Command worked exactly as it should - and that is something I am both happy and satisfied with, says General Manager Naviair in Nuuk, Henrik Jensen, to Sermitsiaq.

He is seconded by Carsten “Junior” Brandt, who is operational manager in RCC:

- First of all, we are of course very happy that the situation with N933DX ended well. At the same time, the case shows that the cooperation between Naviair, who was responsible for the SAR task, and Arctic Command and their units is working very well.

The aircraft is now at the airport in Narsarsuaq, where it will remain until the Danish Accident Investigation Board has completed its investigations, informs Kristian Sivertsen from the Accident Investigation Board.

The American-registered Piper aircraft was brand new. According to the website Flight Aware, the aircraft was finally approved for flight on February 24, 2026, by the American aviation authorities.