A helicopter from the 330-squadron at Ørlandet central airport which flies ambulance transport between Namsos and Trondheim was forced to make an emergency landing in Trondheim at around 3 a.m.
The helicopter was carrying eight passengers and one patient, newspaper Adresseavisen reported on its web site.
According to the newspaper, the craft was in the air when one the helicopter lost oil pressure in the gear box. The pilot decided to land quickly in an open and bright spot and chose the parking lot at a terminal building in Trondheim.
"All of the machines must now be checked, to see if the same fault is present in others. This is a procedure in keeping with regulations," said operation leader Trygve Sveen at Rescue Center Headquarters (HRS) in southern Norway.
Despite the grounding of the Sea Kings, readiness is not notably degraded, the HRS told Aftenposten.no.
"We have many civil helicopters that can be used," Sveen said. "We use MediVac helicopters, which are in any case usually the first to respond to accidents. In addition we have offshore helicopters at the Ekofisk and Oseberg oilfields, and a helicopter with a lift in Bergen."
Birger Austad at the 330-squadron told the Newspapers' News Bureau (ANB) that the fault had been quickly identified - a broken bolt due to metal fatigue that caused an oil leak - and that the Sea Kings would be back in service later Thursday.
