On the vast sand plains of Sólheimasandur glacial outwash in South Iceland, you will find an abandoned plane wreck. The plane has become one of the major tourist attractions on the South Coast of Iceland.
The plane, a Super DC-3 C 117, made an emergency landing back in 1973 on Sólheimasandur and was left behind by the US Navy. This is not the site of a major plane crash, and there were no injuries.
Top photo: Walking on top of the plane is not permitted anymore
The Wreck of the Abandoned Plane on Sólheimasandur
Þórir Kjartansson from Vík, one of the former owners of Hjörleifshöfði promontory, told me the story. He was a member of the rescue team Víkverji when the plane made an emergency landing, and the Americans told the team they had to land due to carburetor icing.
Þórir Kjartansson, whom I have been acquainted with since I wrote 2 travel-blogs on Hjörleifshöfði promontory, was kind enough to both send me photos he took on the day following the emergency landing, and to tell me a little bit about what it was like when he reached the plane the day after it had crashed:
"It was on the 21st of November 1973 that the plane made an emergency landing on Sólheimasandur. The plane was flying west, coming from Höfn in Hornarfjörður, where it was delivering equipment for the US radar station at Stokksnes. 
Photo courtesy of Þórir Kjartansson - the plane the morning after the crash
The southwesterly wind was blowing forcefully, accompanied by snow showers.
The plane had experienced intermittent misfires due to carburetor icing, so the Americans had sent rescue choppers and Phantom jets to its aid.
An hour and a half later, the crew was picked up when a chopper returning from Greenland heard the SOS (ref. an interview with Fletcher in the Morgunblaðið newspaper).
So the crew had already been picked up when the Icelandic rescue team arrived.
Three MPs had been left behind to guard the plane, and the following day, rescue choppers showed up with more men, who stripped the plane of everything of value.
Photo courtesy of Þórir Kjartansson - One of the US rescue choppers arriving the morning after with aid
The wings were removed by the motors, and the fuel tanks, which were inside them, were blown up further east on the sand.
On the first night, the tide reached and flooded parts of the plane, where the MPs were staying.
By now it was extreme frost, and we picked up a gas oven so that the MPs could keep warm. The following day, they drank coffee fortified with brandy to get warmed up".
Þórir took the photo of the DC-plane the morning after the emergency landing, when the rescue team was preparing to pull the plane away from the tidemark so it wouldn't be flooded again.
Photo courtesy of Þórir Kjartansson - Drekinn - the Dragon
They pulled the plane with the orange Drekinn - the Dragon, see Þórir's photo above.
The MP told the rescue team right away that carburetor icing had forced them to land.
Being grateful for all the help provided by the rescue team, the Navy donated all the remaining fuel left in the plane's fuel tanks, around 6,800 litres, and the rescue team was able to fuel up the team's snowmobiles for a long time afterward with the plane's fuel.
Many of the items removed from the plane were later used as spare parts for the revegetation plane Páll Sveinsson.
Later, the plane was towed to its current location by a bulldozer.
Photo courtesy of Þórir Kjartansson
The Víkverji rescue team members were later invited to visit the Navy Base at Keflavík, where they were presented with a shield bearing the US Navy coat of arms as a gesture of appreciation for their various ways of helping them with the plane.
The shield is mounted on the wall of the rescue subcenter of Víkverji, at Vík in Mýrdalur, South Iceland.
Thank you, Þórir, very much, for your account and the photos you allowed me to use for my travel blog :)
The Douglas Dakota plane was left at Sólheimasandur, as recovering it was considered too difficult a task in such a desolate area.
Things were different in Iceland back in 1973, and it wasn't until a year later, in 1974, that the ring road was completed when the Skeiðará glacial river was bridged.
Until then, you could only drive almost as far as Mt. Lómagnúpur, and then you had to turn back the same way.
By the Wreck of the Abandoned Plane on Sólheimasandur
In September 2025, Gregory Fletcher, the co-pilot of the Douglas Dakota plane, came to Iceland and visited the C-117D plane he had landed on Sólheimasandur 52 years earlier, when he was 26. There were 7 passengers on board.
Gregory Fletcher told the story to the newspaper, and I added it to my travel blog after his visit. A relative of mine, Kjartan Valgarðsson at Glacial experience, took Gregory to the plane. Here is another interview on ABC in English.
Gregory said that about 45 minutes after takeoff, they noticed that ice was accumulating on the plane. They were flying through clouds right above Vatnajökull glacier when they hit an ice wall, due to increased icing on the aircraft and its motors.
These were extreme circumstances; the motors stopped, and they were losing altitude. They for sure did not want to be forced to make an emergency landing on the glacier, so they headed south towards the sea.
They made an emergency landing on the glacial outwash, which was very fortunate. Iceland's beaches are rocky, but in this area, volcanic eruptions have created smooth, black beaches of volcanic sand.
The clouds make it look like the plane is on fire
I visited the plane several times back in 2015, when it was still possible to drive down to it.
In March 2016, the landowners banned motor vehicle access to the road leading to the plane due to heavy traffic and off-road driving, which left the sand covered with deep tire tracks, especially around the plane.
This is private land after all, and the farmers have to protect their property.
The landowners welcome visitors on foot, though, so if you are up for it, you can walk the 3.5 km to the plane. The plane has become a very popular tourist attraction, so you will see herds of people walking down to it nowadays.
There is now a Shuttle to the plane wreck.
By the Wreck of the Abandoned Plane on Sólheimasandur
It always amazes me to see how many people are visiting the plane, as only a few years ago, the common Icelander barely knew how to reach it, including me (the locals of this area, of course, excluded).
The plane wreck became hugely popular after the release of Justin Bieber's "I'll show you" music video, in which he skated on a skateboard atop the plane.
That music video has been viewed some 538.000.000 times, so it had quite an impact on people, and his fans went to visit the site of the plane wreck, along with other sights in the music video.
Here is Justin Bieber's video in question:
Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon, where Justin floated in his briefs in the Fjaðrá river, also had a huge increase in visitors to the canyon. The number of visitors increased by a whopping 82% between 2016 and 2017 after the release of "I'll show you"!
See also:
The Picturesque Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon in South Iceland
Another music video was released back in 2015, a hugely popular one, Dilwale, featuring Gerua - Shah Rukh Khan.
Parts of the music video were shot on top of the DC-3 plane, and this also had a great impact. I am a huge fan of it and never tire of listening to it
It has 613.000.000 views:
Since these 2 music videos were released, everybody seems to want to visit the plane wreck, and it became a landmark at Sólheimasandur, even though it cannot be seen from the main road.
I had looked for the plane wreck on my previous visits to the South Coast, but was never sure about its exact location.
Then somebody marked it on a map. And by now, many articles have been written about the abandoned plane on Sólheimasandur.
When I visited the plane back in 2015, car traffic was still allowed. And during my 3 visits to the wreck in 2015, there were not many people around. Maybe 4-5 people, if that many.
Posing while being photobombed by 2 stand-up comedians at the windows behind me ;)
The following year, I noticed the parking lot and signs, and every time I visit the South Coast of Iceland, I see more and more cars in the parking lot.
And silhouettes of a myriad of people walking up and down the path to the plane wreck.
The increase in visitors has been unbelievable, so it is always a WOW moment for me when I drive by on Ring Road 1.
As you can see in my photo below, there are many bullet holes in the wreck. It didn't happen when the plane was stationed in Korea or Vietnam during the wars, but when Icelandic hunters used it as target practice.
The plane has been shot at and had pink graffiti sprayed on it - hubby at the window
The plane was also vandalized, tagged, and pink graffiti was sprayed on it.
Efforts were immediately made to remove the graffiti, and you can see the difference in my photos, taken in July and September back in 2015.
The landowners have now bought another old plane called Gunnfaxi, and plan to replace the old, damaged plane wreck on Sólheimasandur. Gunnfaxi was in use until 1976.
The Wreck of the Abandoned Plane on Sólheimasandur
A word of warning: Do not attempt to walk down to the plane in the wintertime. There can be sudden weather changes, and blizzards are not uncommon here in Iceland.
You for sure do not want to get lost on the vast sand plains of Sólheimasandur glacial outwash in the wintertime. Take the shuttle or join a guided tour that includes a trip to the plane wreck.
Back in November 2017, some travellers had to be rescued by the plane after they were stranded by a storm and couldn't find their way back.
It is not cool, so always check out the Icelandic weather report before visiting the plane. 
On a rainy day by the plane, Pétursey in the background, where elves reside
Sadly, we have already had 3 fatal incidents involving the plane: a tourist visited the plane in October 2017 and died of hypothermia and exposure by a glacial river close to the plane :(
And in January 2019, a young Chinese woman and a man were found dead by the trail to the plane. We assume that they got caught in a blizzard and died of exposure. This is heartbreaking :(
See also:
American traveller found dead on Sólheimasandur black sand beach died of exposure
All you need to know about the Sólheimasandur plane wreck
Sólheimarsandur and the surrounding area as shown on Náttúrufræðistofnun - kortasjá
Guided tours to the plane wreck:
Express 1-Hour ATV Tour to the DC3 Plane Wreck on Iceland's South Coast
South Coast Tour from Reykjavik with the DC-3 Plane Wreck & ATV Ride on a Black Sand Beach
Rent a car in Reykjavík - then walk for 3.5 km down to the plane, not in bad weather though
I have written several other travel blogs about interesting locations in the vicinity of the plane:
The beautiful Waterfalls of South Iceland; Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss & Gljúfrabúi
Skógar Museum - An Excellent Regional Museum & Turf House in South Iceland
Glacier Hike & Ice Climbing on Sólheimajökull glacier in South Iceland
Mt. Pétursey in South Iceland and the Elves - Icelandic Folklore
Have a lovely time exploring the South Coast of Iceland :)
