The DC-3 of Sólheimasandur: a plane crash turned into a tourist destination

@ElentirENG ES 1·26·2024 · 22:59 0

On November 21, 1973, a Douglas C-117 (a variant of the famous DC-3) belonging to the US Navy crashed in southern Iceland.

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The accident occurred during a routine flight between. The plane crashed on the volcanic sand beach of Sólheimasandur, between Hvolsvöllur and Vík í Mýrdal. All the occupants of the plane survived the accident, and the US Navy decided to abandon the device in that remote place.

Little by little, the place where the remains of the plane rest became a destination for fans of alternative tourism. The plane became popular, until it was the most famous in Iceland, starring in many tourist photos. who visited that island, some as beautiful as theNorthern Lights that you see above these lines.

The plane, increasingly deteriorated and in a movie setting, was without a doubt a huge tourist attraction for Iceland.

Not only the curious and alternative tourists came to see it. It became a good setting to take professional photos with models.

The Icelandic band Sigur Rós used the plane as a setting for one of their songs, and so did the Canadian singer Justin Bieber, who in this music video appears sliding on the fuselage of the DC -3 with a skateboard:

The drawback is that to visit the plane you had to park your car next to a road with only two lanes, and then walk for an hour to the accident site. So in Iceland they had a good idea: turn the accident site into a proper tourist destination. A few years ago a parking lot next to the road was paved and a bus was put in place to take the tourists. to the scene of the accident.

The price of the trip is 16 euros and it takes place between the months of March and May, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (more information here). If you ever go to Iceland and you want to visit it, , by clicking here you can see the location of the parking lot to leave the car, and in this other link you have the exact location of the plane.

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Photos: Blair Faser / Thomas Tucker / Sven Tillack / Daniele Buso / Grant Ritchie.