Directions to DC-3 Plane Wreck (South Iceland)

by Allan See Toh on January 8, 2016 with No Comments

Crashed DC-3 Plane, Southern Iceland (Directions to DC-3 Plane Wreck)

This United States Navy DC-3 plane wreck is one of the most unusual sights in Southern Iceland. The plane (with the United States inscription still visible on the fuselage) crashed in Nov-1973 with fortunately no fatalities and had remained on the beach since. Actual reason for the crash was not known (at least publicly). There also appears to be no attempt to recover the wreck; instead leaving it to the arctic elements for the past few decades. While planning for our Jun-2014 Iceland road trip, we had little success trying to find the direction to the wreck via online searches. After getting the directions from some locals and physically visiting the wreck (and with some near misfortunes along the way), we decided to document the directions here so that future visitors will have an easier time finding the wreck! Here you can find the directions to DC-3 Plane Wreck.

Tip: There is no formed road to the wreck. You will be driving on sand once you leave the Ring Road. As such, only attempt this drive in a 4×4.

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Directions to DC-3 Plane Wreck

On the Ring Road (if coming from direction of Skogafoss): After Skogafoss you will drive over a small bridge and see road#221 on your left (#221 leads to Myrdalsjokull Glacier).
At this point immediately start to scan the row of fence on your right. Somewhere soon after, you’ll find a gate along this fence. Go through this gate!
Once you pass through the gate, drive in the general direction of the sea (you can see tire tracks, just follow) and will soon find the plane.
Note:
- There is no stream to cross! (If you have to cross a stream to reach the wreck, it means you’ve used the WRONG gate on the Ring Road)
- If you’re not driving or you’re in a 2WD car, you could walk from the gate (on the Ring Road) to the plane (~4km walk on flat terrain).

Update as on 15-March-2016

It was learnt that the local land owners had decided to stop giving vehicle access to the stretch of land between the gate (on the Ring Road) and the plane wreck. This is due to the indiscriminate driving of visitors, which destroyed the local vegetation. It is not clear how long this restriction will last. Having said, visitors could still walk to the plane wreck (parking their cars outside the Ring Road gate). We will continue to update the status of this restriction once we have more info.

The above Google Street View image shows the gate that will lead to the DC-3 plane wreck.