How To Find Iceland’s Famous Sólheimasandur Plane Crash

I’m sure you’ve seen photos before. Twisted wreckage from an old airplane crash in Iceland on Sólheimasandur black sand beach. Here are the directions to find it. It’s one of Iceland’s most iconic & haunting photography locations. On Saturday Nov 24, 1973 a United States Navy Douglas Super DC-3 airplane was forced to land on Sólheimasandur’s black sand beach in the south of Iceland after experiencing some severe icing.

Luckily all crew members survived the crash, but the airplane’s fuselage was abandoned. Now it’s become a photography dream location.

If you don’t know where to look, it can be a difficult place to discover on your own. Below you’ll find driving directions to the plane.

Airplane Wreckage In Iceland

The 40 year old weather-beaten aircraft has become one of Iceland’s most dramatic photography spots due to its remote location on a desolate black sand beach. It looks like a scene out of some post-apocalyptic zombie movie!

The wings & tail are missing, it’s full of holes, and the crumbling fuselage is covered with wind-blown black sand. You can see a photo of the plane before the crash here.

I spent a night at this airplane crash site in my Happy Campers Van to capture photos of the Northern Lights. Luckily the aurora activity was very strong that night with clear skies, which can be rare in Iceland.

Left At The Fork

There’s one fork on the dirt road, and you’ll want to stay left here. It’s only a few hundred yards past the gate. After that the road heads straight onto the barren black sand beach towards the ocean.

Someone has actually installed road markers on each side of the track, so it’s easy to follow even at night. Keep driving until you see the crashed airplane, about 4km.

You won’t spot the wreckage until the last minute because it’s hidden behind a sand dune near the edge of the ocean. Happy airplane hunting!

Turnoff GPS Coordinates

63.4912391,-19.3632810

Airplane GPS Coordinates

63.459523,-19.364618