2022 Þingvallavatn plane crash
TF-ABB in 2021.
Accident
Date3 February 2022 (2022-02-03)
SummaryWater landing of unknown cause, under investigation.
SiteÖlfusvatnsvík, Þingvallavatn
64°07′54″N 21°04′33″W / 64.1316°N 21.0759°W / 64.1316; -21.0759
Aircraft
Aircraft typeCessna 172N
OperatorVolcano Air ehf.
RegistrationTF-ABB
Flight originReykjavík Airport
DestinationReykjavík Airport
Occupants4
Passengers3
Crew1
Fatalities4
Survivors0

2022 Þingvallavatn plane crash is an aviation accident that happened on the 3rd of February 2022 when TF-ABB (Cessna 172N) landed in icy Þingvallavatn and sank when it was conducting a sightseeing flight from Reykjavík Airport. All 4 people onboard died. Among those was skateboarder and YouTuber Josh Neuman and Icelandic pilot Haraldur Diego.[1] The disappearance of the plane led to the biggest search and rescue operation of a missing plane in Iceland in over 40 years.[2][3]

The accident and rescue operations

The 1977 Cessna 172N registered TF-ABB took off from Reykjavík Airport at 10:38 on the morning of the 3rd of February 2022. The flight plan indicated a two-hour sightseeing flight. Footage from security cameras from summerhouses near Þingvallavatn showed the plane about an hour later doing what appeared to be an attempted landing or touch-and-go on the southern part of Þingvallavatn which was at the time covered in thin ice. The plane hit the ice and sank.[4] No distress call came from the plane and the plane's emergency transmitter did not send any messages. 112, the emergency line, did however receive a few-second call at 11:51 which later turned out to be from the phone of one of the passengers.[5] When the plane did not arrive back at Reykjavík Airport at the right time the plane was reported missing. The search operation that followed was the biggest of a missing plane in Iceland in over 40 years or ever since TF-ROM went missing in May 1981.[6] Over 1000 members of the Icelandic Search and Rescue teams, along with an Icelandic Coast Guard helicopter and a Danish Air Force plane took part in the search.[7][8] The plane was found on the 5th of February at a depth of 48 meters and 800 meters away from land at the bottom of Ölfusvatnsvík in the southern part of Þingvallavatn but there was no sight of the men inside the plane. On the 6th of February, a remote-controlled submarine found the bodies of all four men in a 300-meter radius around the plane.[9][10][11] It is believed that the men escaped from the plane but succumb to the ice-cold water.[12]

Bad weather delayed rescue operations for a few days. An extensive rescue operation was commenced on the 10th of February including the Icelandic Police and their special unit, the fire brigade, the coast guard, and search and rescue teams to get the bodies and the plane out of the water. After a boat could break the ice covering the water, the 4 bodies of the men were pulled out of the water. Due to the bad winter conditions, a remote-controlled submarine with a grip arm was used to get the bodies.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] On the 11th of February, attempts to get the plane out of the water were postponed indefinitely due to conditions worsening in the water and the dangers it posed for the divers.[20][21]

Preparation to get the plane began again in April when the ice melted on the water.[22] On the 22nd of April, the plane was pulled out of the water.[23]

Cause

In the preliminary report from the Safety Investigation Authority of Iceland (Icelandic: Rannsóknarnefnd Samgönguslysa) on the accident it was reported that the plane flew for around 7 seconds at a very low altitude over the water before it landed in it.[24] [25]

Crew and passengers

The pilot was Haraldur Diego, chairman of AOPA Iceland and a pioneer in airplane photography tours in Iceland.[8][26][27][28] The three passengers were from a group of ten people that were in Iceland to participate in an advertising campaign for the Belgian clothing line Suspicious Antwerp.[29][30][31] Among the passengers was skateboarder and YouTuber Josh Neuman.[32][33][34][35][36][37]

On the 12th of April 2022, Haraldur's 50th birthday, a memorial service was held with candles being lit and floated on Þingvallavatn.[38]

References

  1. ↑ Isabel Goyer (10 February 2022). "Echoes Of Kobe Tragedy In Iceland Plane Crash". Plane&Pilot. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. ↑ Viktor Pétur Finnsson (19 June 2022). "Með umfangsmestu aðgerðum seinni ára". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  3. ↑ Þórhildur Þorkelsdóttir; Nadine Yaghi (24 January 2023). "Flugslys við Þingvallavatn". Eftirmál. Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Flugvélin sést á myndbandsupptökum". Morgunblaðið. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "Farþegi hringdi á Neyðarlínuna er slysið varð". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 18 June 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson (5 February 2022). "Leituðu að TF-ROM í tvær vikur árið 1981". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Freyr Bjarnason (3 February 2022). "Sást til vélarinnar suður af Þingvallavatni". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  8. 1 2 Egill Bjarnason (7 February 2022). "US skateboarder, Belgian influencer killed in Iceland crash". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Flugvélin fundin". Morgunblaðið. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Kristín Sigurðardóttir (6 February 2022). "Fjögur lík fundin í Þingvallavatni". RÚV. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Kristín Sigurðardóttir (6 February 2022). "Fjögur lík fundin í Þingvallavatni". RÚV. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "Fólkið hefur komist úr flugvélinni af sjálfsdáðum". Morgunblaðið. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  13. ↑ Hólmfríður María Ragnhildardóttir (10 February 2022). "Ætla að greiða leiðina með bátum". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Eiður Þór Árnason; Lillý Valgerður Pétursdóttir (9 February 2022). "Ryðja, tjalda og koma upp þyrlulendingarstað við Þingvallavatn". Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  15. ↑ Kristín Sigurðardóttir (9 February 2022). "22 kafarar í aðgerðum á Þingvallavatni". RÚV. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Hólmfríður María Ragnhildardóttir (10 February 2022). "Byrjaðir að brjóta ísinn". Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  17. ↑ Kolbeinn Tumi Daðason (10 February 2022). "Hafa náð þremur af fjórum upp úr vatninu". Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Samúel Karl Ólason (10 February 2022). "Sóttu hina látnu með kafbáti vegna erfiðra aðstæðna". Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  19. ↑ Kristín SIgurðardóttir (10 February 2022). "Nota kafbát til að sækja hina látnu í Þingvallavatni". RÚV. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  20. ↑ Snorri Másson (11 February 2022). "Myndasyrpa: Mánuðir þar til skýrist hvað leiddi til slyssins". Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  21. ↑ Kristín Sigurðardóttir (11 February 2022). "Gætu þurft að bíða í mánuði með að ná upp flugvél". RÚV. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  22. ↑ "Flugvélin hífð upp á föstudag". Morgunblaðið. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  23. ↑ Óttar Kolbeinsson Proppé (23 April 2022). "Hafa á-kveðnar vísbendingar um tildrög slyssins". Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  24. ↑ Ólafur Björn Sverrisson (18 June 2022). "Flaug í mjög lítilli hæð áður en hún hafnaði í vatninu". Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  25. ↑ Ragnar Guðmundsson (9 June 2022). Bráðabirgðaskýrsla um flugslys [Preliminary report on aircraft accident] (PDF) (Report). Safety Investigation Authority (Iceland). Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  26. ↑ Thomas A. Horne (7 February 2022). "President of AOPA Iceland dies in apparent accident". AOPA. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  27. ↑ Einar Þór Sigurðsson (4 February 2022). "Flugmaðurinn reynslumikill: Ferðamennirnir frá Bandaríkjunum, Hollandi og Belgíu". Fréttablaðið. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  28. ↑ Martijn Schoolenberg (5 February 2022). "Vliegtuigcrash IJsland: 'Heel treurig, al is hij in het harnas gestorven'". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  29. ↑ Óttar Kolbeinsson Proppé (7 February 2022). "Voru á landinu fyrir auglýsingaherferð fatalínunnar". Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  30. ↑ "Islande. Un youtubeur américain et un influenceur belge parmi les victimes du crash d'un avion". Ouest-France (in French). 7 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  31. ↑ Marcel Vink (7 February 2022). "Familie van op IJsland omgekomen Nederlander: 'We laten Tim hier niet achter'". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  32. ↑ Ben Church (8 February 2022). "US skateboarder Josh Neuman, 22, among four people killed in Iceland plane crash". CNN. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  33. ↑ "Segjast aldrei hafa upplifað annan eins kærleik". Morgunblaðið. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  34. ↑ Rachel Treisman (8 February 2022). "Josh Neuman, popular YouTuber and skateboarder, dies in a plane crash in Iceland". NPR. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  35. ↑ Jennifer Hassan (8 February 2022). "American skateboarder Josh Neuman killed in Iceland plane crash died 'doing what he loved,' family says". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  36. ↑ "American skateboarder and social media star Josh Neuman among 4 killed in Iceland plane crash". CBS News. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  37. ↑ Yaron Steinbuch (8 February 2022). "US skateboarder Josh Neuman, 4 others killed in plane crash in Iceland". New York Post. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  38. ↑ "Kertafleyting á Þingvallavatni". Morgunblaðið. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
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