The signal reached the Coast Guard’s control center a little after 17:00 on Sunday, July 9, 2023. It came from the emergency locator transmitter of a small Cessna flying over the eastern part of Iceland. Air traffic control confirmed the aircraft was in the area and that a pilot and two passengers were aboard.
Then came silence. Repeated attempts to raise the plane got no answer.
The Coast Guard, which runs search and rescue for missing aircraft, sent up a helicopter and called out rescue teams in East Iceland along with the police. The search was well under way before 18:00. At about seven that evening the wreck turned up at Sauðahnjúkar, in the east highlands between Hornbrynja and Hraungarðar. Iceland Monitor put the time of discovery at 19:01.
The helicopter landed at the scene. It was too late: the pilot and both passengers were dead when the crew arrived, and all three were pronounced dead on the spot.
Who is investigating
East Iceland Police and the Icelandic Transport Accident Investigation Board are handling the case under Icelandic law. In its announcement the police described the inquiry as being at an early stage and said nothing more could be shared yet. No cause has been given for the crash, and neither the victims’ identities nor the purpose of the flight had been made public.
Sources
- Airplane Crash in East Iceland Leaves Three Dead – The Reykjavik Grapevine
- Three people died in an airplane crash – Iceland Monitor
