| 1973 Sólheimasandur Douglas DC-3 crash | |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Summary: | Icing conditions |
| Site: | Near Sólheimasandur |
| Aircraft Type: | Douglas C-117D |
| Operator: | United States Navy |
| Tail Number: | 17171 |
| Origin: | Hornafjörður Airport (HFN/BIHN), Iceland |
| Destination: | Naval Air Station Keflavik |
| Crew: | 7 |
| Injuries: | 0 |
| Fatalities: | 0 |
| Survivors: | 7 |
On 21 November 1973, a Douglas C-117D transport aircraft operated by the United States Navy crashed onto 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.
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 7 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]
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.
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, 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.[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]