The Bukken Bruse disaster was a flying boat crash upon landing in Trondheim, Norway, on October 2, 1948. The disaster killed 19 people. Among the survivors was the philosopher Bertrand Russell. October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Boeing 314 A flying boat is an aircraft that is designed to take off and land on water, in particular a type of seaplane which uses its fuselage as a floating hull (instead of pontoons mounted below the fuselage). ... County Sør-Trøndelag District Municipality NO-1601 Administrative centre Trondheim Mayor (2005) Rita Ottervik (A) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 258 342 km² 322 km² 0. ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was an influential British logician, philosopher, and mathematician, working mostly in the 20th century. ...

Events

The flying boat was a Short Sandringham, registration LN-IAW and named "Bukken Bruse" (after the fairy tale "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"). The plane, operated by Det Norske Luftfartsselskap, now a part of SAS, was en route from Oslo. The Short Sandringham was an airliner derivative of the Short Sunderland military flying boat. ... Three Billy Goats Gruff is a famous fairy tale of Scandinavian origin, in which three goats cross a bridge, under which is a fearsome troll who tries to prevent them from crossing it. ... Scandinavian Airlines System, now SAS AB, is an airline based in Stockholm, Sweden. ... County Oslo NO-03 District Viken Municipality NO-0301 Administrative centre Oslo Mayor (2004) Per Ditlev-Simonsen (H) Official language form Neutral Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 224 454 km² 426 km² 0. ...

The weather upon landing in Trondheim was poor, and the sea in Trondheim was foaming white. While the plane was about to land in the water, it was hit by a wind gust, the pilots lost control of the aircraft, and the right pontoon broke as it hit the water. The plane rolled over to the side and the front tipped onto the water. A pontoon boat, like this small pleasure boat, typically floats and balances by means of two pontoons oriented in the direction of travel. ...

The plane rapidly filled with water. Of the 45 people on board, 19 perished. The survivors were all in the smoking compartment at the back of the plane, near the emergency exit.

Bertrand Russell's account

The 74 year old philosopher Bertrand Russell was on the flight, to hold a lecture for the local student society. He was seated at the rear of the smoking compartment. In an interview with Adresseavisen the day after the crash, he said that he was uncertain of what was happening after the jerk until the plane tipped over and water rushed in. In his autobiography he wrote that he had made sure to get a seat in the smoking compartment before the flight, saying that "If I cannot smoke, I shall die." Russell was hospitalized in a Trondheim hospital. Adresseavisen is a regional newspaper published in Trondheim, Norway daily, except Sundays. ...

External links

• Aviation safety.net entry on the disaster
• Link with the passage of Russell's account
• Norwegian article about the crash