A technical malfunction on a Hornet fighter jet caused authorities to issue an aviation accident alert at an airfield in northern Ostrobothnia on Sunday.
The Finnish Air Force’s F-18 Hornet jet was forced to make an emergency landing at an airport in Oulunsalo in northern Ostrobothnia at about 12.30pm on Sunday afternoon, according to fire chief Hannu Timonen of the Oulu-Koillismaa fire and rescue department.
The landing occurred without incident, Timonen noted, adding that his unit worked with Defence Forces and the Oulunsalo airfield to ensure that the landing proceeded safely.
Sunday’s incident was the second of its kind during the weekend. On Saturday, Rovaniemi airport officials issued an aviation accident alert when another Hornet experienced a suspected control unit malfunction. However that aircraft also landed safely.
On Saturday, Colonel Jukka-Pekka Keränen, leader of the Air Force’s Ruska 20 main war drills told news agency STT that the aircraft in Saturday’s incident did not have any defect that would affect its ability to fly.