1973 Sólheimasandur Douglas DC-3 crash

On 21 November 1973, a Douglas C-117D transport aircraft operated by the United States Navy crashed onto Sólheimasandur [is] beach in southern Iceland during severe icing conditions. All seven crewmembers on board survived the accident, and the aircraft was written off. The main fuselage wreckage has remained relatively intact since the accident, leading to the crash site becoming a tourist destination.

1973 Sólheimasandur Douglas R4D crash

The crashed C-117D in 2015
Accident
Date	21 November 1973 (1973-11-21)
Summary	Icing conditions
Site	Near Sólheimasandur 63°27′32.70″N 19°21′53.37″W
Aircraft
17171, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1972
Aircraft type	Douglas C-117D
Operator	United States Navy
Registration	17171
Flight origin	Hornafjörður Airport (HFN/BIHN), Iceland
Destination	Naval Air Station Keflavik
Crew	7
Fatalities	0
Injuries	0
Survivors	7

Accident

The aircraft involved in the accident was flying from Hofn Hornafjördur Airport to Naval Air Station Keflavik, after delivering supplies for the radar station at Stokksnes. En route the aircraft encountered severe icing and the crew were forced to land on a frozen river at Sólheimasandur. All seven crew members survived and were rescued by helicopter, but the aircraft was written off ('surveyed' in US Navy parlance). The unsalvaged remains of the aircraft were left at the scene.^[1]

Aircraft

The aircraft, serial number 17171, was designated C-117D and was based on the Super DC-3, first flown in 1944.^[1] This R4D-8 was built as an R4D-5 (msn 12554) and converted to R4D-8 (msn 43309) in November 1951. All R4D-8 aircraft still extant were re-designated as C-117D in the tri-service designation system introduced from 18 September 1962.

Tourist site

As of 2024, the fuselage of the aircraft remains relatively intact, and the site has become a popular tourist destination.^[2][3][4] The wreck has accumulated superficial damage from graffiti, gunfire, and tourists over the years.^[5][6] Tours to the site are available,^[4] and the trek back and forth takes about two to three hours.

In January 2020, two Chinese tourists died of hypothermia near the wreckage after getting caught in a storm.^[3][7] A month later, search and rescue units had to rescue several tourists who had ignored a warning from the police to not trek to the wreckage due to deteriorating weather in the area.^[8]

Popular culture

• The crash site was featured in the music video of Justin Bieber's 2015 song "I'll Show You".^[9]
• American musician George Hirsch's 2016 album Hijrah used an image of the Sólheimasandur crash as its cover.^[10]
• The show Top Gear America visited the site in the episode "Viking Trucks" while in Iceland.^{[citation needed]}
• The music video for the song "Gerua", from the Indian film Dilwale was shot at this site, in which lead actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol are seen standing on the wreckage. The site gained popularity among Indian tourists after the release of the song^[11]
• The site was also featured in the music video "Let Me In", an orchestral ballad song that introduced the member HaSeul of the Korean girl group Loona.^[12]
• The site is featured in the Netflix sci-fi drama Katla^{[citation needed]}
• The site is featured in start of season 12 of the Dutch reality TV game show Wie is de Mol?