Landowners have closed the road leading to the crashed US Navy Douglas Dakota DC 3 plane wreck that sits abandoned on the black sands of Sólheimasandur beach in South Iceland.
According to one of the landowners, farmer Benedikt Bragason, they decided to close the road as visitors’ behavior in the area was not acceptable.
The plane wreck is one of Iceland’s most visited landmarks due to the desolate location on the black sand beach, and being only around 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) away from Ring Road 1.
The plane has featured in countless Instagram photos online, several photo essays in foreign media, TV commercials and music videos, most recently in Justin Bieber’s I’ll Show You.
Read more: Justin Bieber releases new music video shot in Iceland
A veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars
The plane crashed on November 21, 1973 on Sólheimasandur beach west of the village of Vík in South Iceland. The crew survived, but the cause of the crash are somewhat unclear as accounts differ as to whether it was due to a mechanical failure, the plane running out of fuel, or a storm.
Read more: Sólheimasandur sand beach famous plane wreck vandalised
The plane was one of four Douglas Dakotas based at the US Navy base in Keflavík, which was an important military base during the Cold War. The planes, which had previously served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, all met their ends in Iceland, as the three other planes were damaged during take-off. The base was closed in 2006 when the US Navy left.
Landowners have closed the road leading to the crashed US Navy Douglas Dakota DC 3 plane wreck that sits abandoned on the black sands of Sólheimasandur beach in South Iceland.
According to one of the landowners, farmer Benedikt Bragason, they decided to close the road as visitors’ behavior in the area was not acceptable.
The plane wreck is one of Iceland’s most visited landmarks due to the desolate location on the black sand beach, and being only around 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) away from Ring Road 1.
The plane has featured in countless Instagram photos online, several photo essays in foreign media, TV commercials and music videos, most recently in Justin Bieber’s I’ll Show You.
Read more: Justin Bieber releases new music video shot in Iceland
A veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars
The plane crashed on November 21, 1973 on Sólheimasandur beach west of the village of Vík in South Iceland. The crew survived, but the cause of the crash are somewhat unclear as accounts differ as to whether it was due to a mechanical failure, the plane running out of fuel, or a storm.
Read more: Sólheimasandur sand beach famous plane wreck vandalised
The plane was one of four Douglas Dakotas based at the US Navy base in Keflavík, which was an important military base during the Cold War. The planes, which had previously served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, all met their ends in Iceland, as the three other planes were damaged during take-off. The base was closed in 2006 when the US Navy left.
