On 5 April 1986, at 13:26, an Eagle Air Piper PA-23-250 Aztec light aircraft crashed in Ljósufjöll in Snæfellsnes, Iceland killing five of the occupants on board.[1][2][3] The aircraft was on a charter flight from Ísafjörður to Reykjavík and carried six passengers, including a couple with an 11-month-old child, and a pilot. It was believed that the plane landed in a downdraft and crashed into the slopes of Ljósufjöll, south of Sóleyjardalur.[4] It remains one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Iceland's history[5][6] and resulted in changes to aviation regulations and procedures to increase the flow of up-to-date weather information to pilots.[7]
 A Piper PA-23-250 Aztec, similar to the aircraft involved | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 April 1986 |
| Summary | Downdraft during landing |
| Site | Ljósufjöll, Iceland 64°55′37″N 22°34′12″W / 64.927°N 22.570°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-23-250 Aztec |
| Registration | TF-ORM |
| Flight origin | Ísafjörður Airport, Iceland |
| Destination | Reykjavík Airport, Iceland |
| Occupants | 7 |
| Passengers | 6 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Injuries | 2 |
The wreckage of the plane was found on the northern slopes of Ljósufjöll, at an altitude of 700 metres (2,300 ft), just before midnight the same day. Men from the Air Rescue Squad in Reykjavík were the first to arrive at the scene of the accident and there were three passengers alive in the wreckage, but one passenger died in a snowmobile on the way down the mountain.[8][9]
Investigation
editFinal Report
editAn investigation by the Air Accident Committee and the Civil Aviation Administration concluded that the plane likely landed in a downdraft resulting in it crashing into the slopes of Ljósufjöll. It also concluded that a large part of the cause was due to the pilots lack of access to current weather information in the area.[10]
Recommendations
editThe accident and investigation resulted in changes on aviation regulations and procedures to increase the flow of up-to-date weather information between pilots and the Icelandic Meteorological Office. It also led to an overhaul of how air operators' logbooks, brochures and other educational material published by the Civil Aviation Administration are used in pilot training and retraining, e.g. in pilots aptitude test.[7]
Aftermath
editThree days after the crash, a survivor who lost his wife and child in the crash, told his story in an interview with Morgunblaðið.[11] The interview caused a considerable backlash towards the newspaper and doctors at Borgarspítalinn.[why?][12][13]
The aftermath of the accident also caused a controversy in Iceland due to the governments regulations regarding passenger compensations for plane accidents which was 47-times lower than passengers in an automobile accident could receive.[14]
In popular culture
editIn 2020, RÚV featured the accident in a three-part radio series.[15]
In 2011, the accident was featured in the book Útkall - Ofviðri í Ljósufjöllum, part of the Útkall book series by Óttar Sveinsson.[16] In 2022, the story from the book was featured in the sixth episode of the docuseries Útkall on the television channel Hringbraut.[17][18]
References
edit- ^ "Tveir lifðu af - fimm fórust í flugslysinu" [Two survived - five died in the plane crash]. Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 7 April 1986. pp. 1, 4, 5, 48. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Tveir komust lífs af" [Two survived]. Tíminn (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. p. 1. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Breidfjord, Huldar (1 December 2011). "Flugslysið í Ljósufjöllum" [The plane crash in Ljjufjöllur]. Bæjarins Besta (in Icelandic). p. 14. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Ólafsdóttir, Halla (8 April 2020). "Ljósufjöll" [Light mountains]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Sjöunda mesta slys íslenskrar flugsögu" [The seventh worst accident in Icelandic aviation history]. Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Ingólfsson, Arnar Thor (12 June 2019). "Fyrsta banaslysið í flugi frá 2015". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ a b "1,5 millj. til að auka upplýsingar milli Veðurstofu og flugmanna" [1.5 million to increase information between the Norwegian Meteorological Agency and pilots]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 17 February 1987. p. 4. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "Flugvélin nötraði og kastaðist til í loftinu" [The plane shook and tossed in the air]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. pp. 1, 22, 23, 52–56. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Einarsson, Guðni (7 March 1993). "Af hverju ég?" [Why me?]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 18–19. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Pétursson, Jón Birgir (19 February 1987). "Veðurstofan ein hafði réttu upplýsingarnar um hvernig veðrið í rauninni var" [Veðurstofan ein hafði réttu upplýsingarnar um hvernig veðrið í rauninni var]. Vestfirska Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 7. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "Þrýsti barninu að mér og reyndi að verja konuna" [Pushed the baby to me and tried to protect the woman]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 9 April 1986. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Trúin og bænin hafa veitt mér hugarró og hjálp" [Faith and prayer have given me peace of mind and help]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 24 April 1986. pp. 40–41. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Magnúsdóttir, Thorbjörg. "Blaðamenn eiga ekki erindi við slasaða" [Journalists have no business with the injured]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 4. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Löggjafinn viðheldur smánarbótum" [The legislature maintains contempt compensation]. The weekend post (in Icelandic). 17 June 1987. pp. 1, 7–9. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ Ólafsdóttir, Halla. "Ljósufjöll" [Light mountains]. RÚV. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ Bjarnason, Helgi (16 December 2011). "Ómannlegar raunir í Ljósufjöllum" [Inhuman trials in Ljõsufjöll]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "6 þáttur: Ofviðri í Ljósufjöllum" [Episode 6: Torrential storm in Ljõsufjöll]. Hringbraut (in Icelandic). Fréttablaðið. 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "„Mér fannst eins og hann væri lifandi" - Flugslysið í Ljósufjöllum" ["I felt like he was alive" - The plane crash in Ljõsufjöllur]. Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 12 April 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.