THE AIRCRAFT WRECK IN ICELAND: WHEN THERE WAS NO ONE AT THE DAKOTA
- Roman Pech
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The first time I walked to it was in 2008. Back then, Sólheimasandur was exactly the kind of place you imagine when you think of an Icelandic wilderness. You couldn't see the aircraft at all from the main road. It was hidden behind a low rise in the terrain, somewhere in the middle of an endless black plain. There was only a rough track across sand and gravel leading to the wreck. It took more than an hour to walk there. And there was no one around.
It had been lying on Sólheimasandur since 1973. At first sight, it looked almost unreal – as if someone had simply abandoned an aircraft in the middle of Iceland's black desert and forgotten about it. And, in a way, that was almost exactly what happened.
The History of the Douglas R4D-5
The aircraft was originally built as a Douglas R4D-5, the military version of the famous DC-3. It was later converted into a Super DC-3 and served with the U.S. Navy.
On November 21, 1973, it was flying from Höfn to Keflavík. Severe icing caused both engines to fail, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing on Sólheimasandur.
All seven people on board survived.
The aircraft was never removed from the site.
And so it stayed.
What fascinated me most about the Dakota was precisely what can barely be seen in photographs today.
Silence. Emptiness. The scale of the landscape.
The aircraft was huge, yet against the vastness of Sólheimasandur it seemed almost small.
When you stood a few dozen metres away from it, there was nothing around that resembled a tourist attraction.
The Aircraft Wreck in Iceland: One Music Video Changed Everything
Then came the internet.
And, above all, one music video.
In 2015, Justin Bieber released the music video for I'll Show You. Several scenes were filmed on Sólheimasandur, with Bieber appearing around the aircraft wreck.
Suddenly, the Dakota reached millions of people who had never heard of it before.
They didn't discover it. The wreck had been known in Iceland for years. But Bieber changed the way the rest of the world saw it.
What followed was a small example of just how quickly tourism in Iceland was changing.
Thousands of people began heading toward a place that had once required more than an hour's walk from the main road.
The inconspicuous wreck became one of the most famous photographic locations in southern Iceland.
Organised transfers appeared. Photographers, influencers and tourist buses arrived, along with people wanting to recreate the shot they had seen online.
And the Dakota itself began to change.
On the one hand, it is fascinating.
The internet managed to transform a forgotten wreck into a place visited by people from all over the world. The Dakota became a symbol of the Icelandic landscape, just like some of the country's waterfalls, glaciers and black beaches.
On the other hand, there is something slightly sad about it.
The most remarkable quality of the place – its complete isolation and unique sense of place – has almost disappeared.
A Wreck Slowly Worn Down by Time and Tourists
Today, visitors are not supposed to climb on the aircraft. Getting to the wreck is more organised, and visiting it is much easier than it was years ago.
For some, that's a good thing.
The wreck needs to be protected, and Sólheimasandur is not a place where tourism can simply be left completely uncontrolled.
At the same time, the aircraft continues to face the forces that have been destroying it since 1973 – wind, rain, salt, frost and Iceland's harsh weather.
And now there are also tens of thousands of visitors who want to photograph themselves beside it.
When you look at photographs of the Dakota from several decades ago, you don't just see an ageing aircraft.
You can also see how much Iceland itself has changed.
The Dakota Didn't Change. Our View of It Did.
The Dakota hasn't changed only because of time.
Our perception of it has changed too.
When I first walked to it, I was going to see a wreck.
Today, people travel there to see an icon they know from Instagram, YouTube, advertisements and music videos.
And perhaps that is precisely why I value my old photographs the most.
Not because they are technically better. They aren't.
But because they captured the wreck at a time when it was still just an old aircraft sitting in the middle of the Icelandic wilderness.
No buses.
No crowds.
No selfie sticks.
No people waiting for their turn to take the next photograph.
Just the Dakota, black sand, the wind coming off the Atlantic and an endless landscape.
And almost no one around it.
About the Author
Iceland has fascinated me for many years. Over the course of numerous journeys across the island, I have driven tens of thousands of kilometers, experienced storms that changed travel plans within minutes, and witnessed days when choosing the right route meant discovering places that most visitors never see. I documented many of these experiences in my documentary film Island in the North.
Through this website, I share practical travel advice, up-to-date information, and firsthand experiences from the field to help others explore Iceland more safely and gain a deeper understanding of its unique landscapes and ever-changing nature.
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