The 1973 US Navy C-117D Sólheimasandur Crash, commonly known as the Sólheimasandur Crash, is a crashed US Navy Douglas C-117D located in Sólheimasandur [is] on the southern coast of Iceland. The remains of the aircraft - which crashed in 1973 - have remained relatively intact, leading to the crash site becoming a tourist destination.
![]() The crashed C-117D in 2015 | |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 21 November 1973 (1973-11-21) |
Summary | Icing |
Site | near Sólheimasandur 63°27′32.70″N 19°21′53.37″W |
Aircraft | |
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 |
The accident aircraft 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 USN 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] Note that 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.
Forced to land due to severe icing, 17171 was written off and unsalvaged parts of the aircraft remained at the site.[1]
As of 2022, the fuselage of the aircraft remains relatively intact, leading to the site becoming 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 that went over the area.[3][7] A month later, SAR units had to rescue several tourists that had ignored a warning from the police to not trek to the wreckage due to deteriorating weather in the area.[8]