In thisDakota Hunter Blog, you’ ll see a series of awesome photos of aC-53 Skytrooperthat flew into aSwiss glaciersome 70 years ago. All 8 passengers and 4 crew members on board were extremely lucky to survive the crash that ended in a harrowing glide over the snow-covered ice mass, named the Gauli Glacier in central Switzerland.
In that accident, the rugged C-53 remained remarkably intact, the reason that only a couple of occupants got lightly injured while all others stepped out unscathed. But their nightmare experience was not yet fully over, the position of the aircraft was not exactly known and hard to find in the adverse mountain weather, so it took the rescuers 6 days and nights before they reached the spot and were able to airlift the occupants to the comfort of a hospital/hotel bed.
On November 18th, 1946 theC-53 Skytrooperwith serial42-68846took off from Tulln Air Base near Vienna, Austria, bound for Pisa in Northern Italy. The pilots opted for a longer 2-days detour flight to the West over Southern Germany and France in order to circumvent the prevailing bad weather over the central High Alps.
Soon after they flew overInnsbruckin the Western Austrian Alps, the crew encountered adverse weather conditions. While flying over Switzerland (Canton of Bern), they had lost their orientation and their actual flight path ended deeper South into the Alps of Central Switzerland.
At a speed of 170 mph (280 km/h), the aircraft encountered a violentdowndraft (katabatic wind), comparable to a microburst that can ‘push’ even big jets into the ground on approach flights. The downdraft made the aircraft lose height rapidly in poor visibility. At 2.45 PM, it hit terrain and crash-landed into theGauli Glacierat an altitude of3,350meters, located about 8 miles south of theSwiss Air Force Base Meiringen.
The immense luck of hitting a snow-covered near-flat terrain with a slightly sloping hill in an aircraft, stepping out alive and telling your family, was a God Gift. Only a few people experienced similar situations of flying into terrain and tell the story afterwards!
The crew was able to send a distress call from the stricken plane that was picked up in Paris and Lyon. They presumed that it had crashed in the French Alps. Two days later, an officer based in the control tower of the Meiringen airbase, received a message on his frequency as well and gave the alert ofa new radio bearing, narrowing thesearch area to the Gauli Glacier.
During a break in the overcast, an aerial spotting of the C-53 was executed by the crew of anRAF Lancasterin the morning of Nov. 22nd and coincidently, an overhead flyingUSAAF B-29on its way to Munich was also able to locate the wreckage one day later.
After several low fly-overs made by Swiss aircraft, anAlpine ski-equipped Rescue patrolof Swiss soldiers went up to the glacier and was the first to make physical contact with the stricken aircraft and the 12 occupants who had survived the long days and nights in their deep freezer container aka the C-53 cabin.
It took the rescuers 13 hours to get up there and it was too late to descend that same day. The next day, they took all occupants downhill to theGauli Alpine Hutat 2,200 m. altitude.
Once the location of the accident was known, the US Military started their ownRescue Operationwith a rapid deployment of tons of special transports. By train, there arrived theJeeps, Ambulances, and a number of Snowcats. The photo depicts US Army personnel with the Jeeps and theWeasels(made by Studebaker for Arctic Rescue operations).
Unfortunately, the Weasels were of no avail in the typical Swiss environment with deep glacier snow and steep mountain terrain. Those conditions were better handled with the Swiss expertise of mountain rescue operations and their special transports.
The Swiss deployed two ‘Special Operations’ Aircraft for the Rescue Operation. The photo depicts the twoFieseler Fi-156 Storch(Stork) aircraft of German origin that airlifted the passengers and crew of the crashed C-53. Of that Reconnaissance/Liaison Light Aircraft, more than 2,900 were built before, during, and after WW II by Fieseler (who also built de V-1 Buzz-Bomb) and Morane.
Equipped with both skies and wheels, the light aircraft could land on (patches of) snow and in (rough) terrain. The genius of the Fieseler design was in itswing designand its‘long legs’. The wheel suspension struts are not attached at the lower fuselage frame (as was/is normal practice) but are extended up to the overhead mounted wings. That insect-like appearance allows for an extremely long vertical ‘travel’ of the wheels during landings, making the aircraft a serious contender for the title “Master of the Moguls”.
The aircraft (also built in France, Russia, Rumania until the 1950’s) had an excellent STOL performance due to a lightweight construction and an advanced wing design. A fixed slat ran along the entire length of the leading edge of the long wings, while a hinged and slotted set of control surfaces ran along the entire length of the trailing edge.
The aircraft was used in 1943 in amost spectacular escape of the fascist leaderMussolini.He was imprisoned at Campo Imperatore Hotel (a ski resort in Italy’s Gran Sasso massif, high in the Apennine Mountains) by the Italian Government when it became clear that Italy was about to lose the war.
The Germans launched their air raid with 10 gliders with 90 soldiers and a Fieseler. They landed out of the blue next to his prison hotel, released the ex-dictator and flew him from that mountain out to his German friends in Vienna. Mussolini must have peed his pants as that little aircraft he was shoehorned into, had an extremely narrow cabin and was most likely overloaded with its 2 passengers and one pilot.
Worse, only a very short runway was laying ahead of them that went steeply down the mountain slope before the Fi-156 could get airborne. Mussolini survived this takeoff but was executed by partisans in April 1945 just before the end of the War,
The 6-days stay in their Glacier prison came to a good end for all 8 passengers and 4-man crew of the stricken C-53. Two versatile German aircraftFieseler Storchplanes airlifted all of them from the Gauli Glacier to the Swiss Meiringen Air Force base, only 8 miles away, where this photo was made.
High ranking US Military and two women were under the passengers, seen here, a bit shaken but relieved with the Happy Ending of their Nightmare. The Dodge Ambulance standing at right took the wounded to the hospital.
For original footage of the rescue operation, see here parts of the film that was made in 1946;Authentic footage of rescue on German TV
In the summer of 1947, the dismantling of the aircraft started. The most precious parts like engines, and (cockpit) interior were airlifted from the scene. The bend propellers were left behind and the partially empty but intact airframe was left behind on the Glacier, becoming a toy for the Glacier’s grinder capacities.
The shiny airframe of the C-53 is seen here intact for the last time in 1947. The elements and the crunching power of the glacier have torn the airframe and wings apart over the years that followed, resulting in the pulverizing of the larger parts to smaller pieces that were deep-frozen inside the glacier.
But with the accelerated melting of glaciers worldwide, also theGaulihas been affected by the warmer temperatures of the European summers and in 2012, the shrinking glacier released its first souvenirs from that 1946 aircraft crash.
Amazingly, in 2008, I visited in theYukon, Canada, another wreck of aUSAF C-47that crashed in very similar bad weather conditions on a search mission. That accident happened in 1950, the C-47 was also caught in a downdraft and hit terrain, a snow-covered hill while no obstructions were met on the gliding path of the aircraft. With the airframe still intact, all occupants stepped out alive and also had to wait for their rescue for days.
But the big difference makes the glacier: where the Gauli wreck was eaten by a hugemetal-grinder,the Yukon wreck is still there as if the crash happened only a year ago. Never saw such an impressive crash site in my life with such well-conserved airframe still there, largely intact with only engines and nose cone removed.
In my bookThe Dakota Hunter,I describe that awesome experience with photos of the situation and a very fascinating story. You can also read my blog about that crash here
If you like this story, may I recommend you to check out my two books, both illustrated with hundreds of unique photos and harrowing adventure stories.
My first book is about the DC-3/ Dakota/ C-47, titled “The Dakota Hunter”.Read the very positive reviews on the Amazon order-page ( scroll down to reviews) and you can order the book right away if you like (see cover below). SeeAmazon order page The Dakota Hunter.
My second book has just been released and is with 400 photos on 290 pages the most complete photo album of the PBY Catalina that you can buy. It has as title “80 Years, a tribute to the PBY Catalina”.(See cover below). You can order the book now atAmazon Order page / 80 Years, PBY Catalina.
Or come to my order pagecatalinabook.comand see the video. For awesome reviews of this new book, you can see 15 random pictures on my printer’s pageSBC 80 Years, PBY Catalina Book reviews
Visit for more Dakota Hunter Blogs and photos: dc3dakotahunter.com
FAQs
Was the lost plane found in melting Swiss glaciers? ›
In the first week of August, a mountain guide discovered the wreckage of a plane that crashed over the Aletsch glacier, near the Jungfrau and Mönch mountain peaks, in June 1968. “From afar, I thought I was looking at two backpacks”, said Dominik Nellen, 38.
Was debris from 1968 plane crash found on Swiss Glacier? ›On August 4, debris from a plane crash was found on the Aletsch glacier by a mountain guide, according to local authorities. Local police said in a statement that their investigation determined the plane parts found on the glacier were from a Piper Cherokee plane that crashed on the glacier on June 30, 1968.
What bodies and plane that disappeared decades ago have been recovered as Swiss glaciers melt? ›The Piper PA-28 Cherokee had not been seen since it disappeared 54 years ago over the Swiss Alps. Now a mountain guide has discovered the grisly remains after the crash site was revealed by melting ice. Fragments of the 1968 aircraft were discovered on the Aletsch Glacier in the Swiss Alps on August 2.
Has any trace of Flight 19 ever been found? ›In the 2000s, searchers expanded their search area farther east, into the Atlantic Ocean, but the remains of Flight 19 have still not been confirmed found.
What ww2 plane was found in Antarctica? ›Glacier Girl is a Lockheed P-38F Lightning, World War II fighter plane, 41-7630, c/n 222-5757, that was restored to flying condition after being buried beneath the Greenland ice sheet for over 50 years. Glacier Girl was part of the Lost Squadron.
What aircraft was found in the ice? ›Over the decades, the ever-shifting ice sheets of Greenland buried the aircraft, known as the Lost Squadron, under between 250 and 300 feet of ice. Fifty years later, in 1992, one of the P-38s was extracted from the ice and restored to flying condition: the infamous Glacier Girl.
What is the most mysterious plane crash in the world? ›- Apr 14, 2023, 12:53 AM IST. 7 Mysterious Plane Disappearances. ...
- Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. ...
- Lockheed Electra 10E. ...
- Flight 19 torpedo bombers. ...
- Flying Tiger Flight 739. ...
- STENDEC. ...
- IAF plane crash of 2016. ...
- Douglas DC-4.
| Disappearance | |
|---|---|
| Date | 8 March 2014; 9 years, 1 month ago |
| Summary | Inconclusive, some debris found |
| Site | Indian Ocean, probably southern |
| Aircraft | |
The most fatalities in any aviation accident in history occurred during 1977 in the Tenerife airport disaster, when 583 people were killed when two Boeing 747s collided on a runway.
What was the worst plane crash on US soil? ›Pan Am Flight 759, a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight of American mainstay Pan Am, became the worst catastrophe on US soil when it crashed in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner, killing all 145 people onboard.
Are the survivors of flight 571 still alive? ›
The group, all of whom are still alive, get together on the Oct. 13 anniversary of the crash for a mass to remember the 29 friends and crew members who perished in the crash at an altitude of more than 13,000 feet, according to the outlet.
Was a body found in the melting glacier? ›Human remains found in melting ice on Swiss glacier are identified as 32-year-old British hiker who went missing 50 years ago. Human remains discovered in melting ice on a Swiss glacier have been identified as a British hiker who went missing in 1974.
Were bodies found in the glacier in Switzerland? ›Two bodies have been found in recent weeks in the high mountains, discovered as glaciers recede under summer temperatures. Alpinists found human bones last Wednesday on the Chessjen glacier in the southern canton of Valais, the Blick newspaper reported on Monday.
Were the bodies recovered from the float plane crash? ›Island County Emergency Management said the bodies of pilot Jason Winters and passengers Sandra Williams, Ross Mickel, Luke Ludwig and Rebecca Ludwig have been found and identified. The remains of a seventh victim, Gabby Hanna, were found shortly after the crash. The bodies of three other victims have not been found.
How many planes have disappeared without a trace? ›Some 83 aircraft have been declared “missing” since 1948, according to data compiled by the Aviation Safety Network. The list includes planes capable of carrying more than 14 passengers and where no trace — bodies or debris — has ever been found. Related Graphic: Where Could Flight 370 Be? >>
Did Flight 19 run out of fuel? ›Eventually, Taylor and his airmen ran out of fuel, forcing them to down their planes and succumb to the elements. The disappearance of the PBM-5 is most often attributed to an explosion, as this particular model of plane was prone to such accidents.
Are there planes that have gone missing? ›Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is officially the flight with the most missing people (239 missing), although possible remains of the plane have been found in the Indian Ocean.
What was the feared plane in ww2? ›Junkers Ju87 Widely known as the “Stuka”, the Ju87 was one of the most feared aircraft during World War Two. It had a fearsome siren which terrified those who heard it.
What was the secret aircraft of ww2? ›Top Secret was the name of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress (B-29-36-MO 44–27302, "victor number' 72) modified to carry the atomic bomb in World War II. It served with the Army Air Forces and United States Air Force from 1945 until 1954.
Why don t planes fly Antarctica? ›There are very few cases of airplanes flying over Antarctica. The rough weather conditions and low visibility make it extremely difficult to fly and land a plane over the continent.
What airplane was found in California Lake? ›
PLACER COUNTY, Calif. —
Company Seafloor Systems was testing its underwater survey equipment last week when it spotted what appeared to be a small aircraft 160 feet underwater. When the plane was found, it was believed it could be the aircraft that crashed on New Year's Day in 1965.
Prisco, Jacopo (21 July 2020). "The AN-225: How the Cold War created the world's largest airplane". CNN. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
What was the famous Cold War plane? ›To supersede its U-2 spy plane, Lockheed developed the top-secret, stealthy SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft, one of which is displayed here. The Cold War ended with the peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and relations between the former adversaries began to warm.
Which flight has never crashed? ›Running since 1929, Hawaiian is among the oldest airlines in the world but, remarkably, it has never suffered a single fatal crash or hull loss.
What is the biggest mystery in aviation history? ›Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappearance, also called MH370 disappearance, disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet on March 8, 2014, during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Is flight 828 a true story? ›While flight 828 really disappeared in the Manifest TV series, there has not been any real-life disappearance of flight 828. Many people believe that it is inspired by the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, but the story was actually written about five years before that ill-fated flight.
Why don t planes fly over the ocean? ›Most flights are intended to spend as little time as possible over water, since storms are more common over the ocean than on land. An aircraft would not be safe to fly over the Pacific Ocean due to the stormy weather and frequent lightning strikes that occur there.
Where is the abandoned plane? ›The abandoned plane is located in the South of Bali just a short drive from Uluwatu. It's around an hour from Canggu and Ubud and best to head down early to beat the traffic.
What plane disappeared over the Pacific? ›Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 (FT739/FTL739) was a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation propliner that disappeared on March 16, 1962, over the western Pacific Ocean.
What is the saddest moment in aviation history? ›The Tenerife Airport Disaster (1977)
The deadliest accident in aviation history, where around 583 passengers on board were killed. The incident took place after the plane captain, mistakenly believing that he had been cleared for takeoff, went ahead.
Which airline has crashed the most? ›
- Air France: 347 fatalities.
- Air India: 542 fatalities.
- Air India Express: 179 fatalities.
- AirBlue: 152 fatalities.
- American Airlines: 858 fatalities.
- Avianca: 181 fatalities.
- Birgenair: 186 fatalities.
- 1) Lockheed Model 10 Electra. Flown By: Amelia Earhart. ...
- 2) Wright Flyer. Flown By: The Wright Brothers. ...
- 3) Air Force One. Flown By: The U.S. Government. ...
- 4) Blériot XI. Flown By: Louis Blériot. ...
- 5) Spirit of St. Louis. ...
- 6) The Hindenberg. ...
- 7) The Voyager. ...
- 8) Fokker Dr1 Dreidecker.
(“General aviation” means private planes, as opposed to commercial airliners, which don't crash in Alaska any more than they do in the rest of the United States.) In the last decade, Alaska had 1,188 accidents, compared with an average of 351 accidents in each of the 50 states.
What was the #1 worst plane crash? ›The Tenerife Airport Disaster is considered to be the deadliest plane crash in aviation history. On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747s collided on the runway at Tenerife Airport in the Canary Islands. The crash was caused by a series of miscommunications and errors, which resulted in the death of 583 people.
When was the last fatal plane crash in US? ›The United States' last fatal accident was in 2009, when Colgan Air flight 3407 crashed while flying from Newark to Buffalo, killing everyone onboard. The NTSB investigation declared it to be pilot error, citing pilot fatigue as a factor.
Why do plane crash victims lose clothes? ›Well, when the passengers of the plane crash are found without clothes, it only indicates that the passenger cabin had broken during the crash allowing for a mid-air break-up. In such a situation the clothes get shredded by the slipstream.
Did the survivors eat each other in the plane crash? ›With no choice, the survivors ate the bodies of their dead friends. Survivor Roberto Canessa described the decision to eat the pilots and their dead friends and family members: Our common goal was to survive – but what we lacked was food.
Were any bodies recovered from Flight 261? ›Nearly a day after the accident, searchers had pulled four bodies - one man, two women and an infant- from the sea, which is 300 to 750 feet deep in the area. Hopes dimmed that anyone aboard Flight 261 survived in the 58-degree water.
Who was the woman found in glacier park? ›[September 5, 2021] – The body of a recently missing Richmond, Virginia woman has been located in Glacier National Park early this afternoon. Jennifer Coleman, who was reported missing Wednesday, September 1, was found deceased in a steep and rocky area near the Continental Divide.
Have human bodies been found in ice? ›Ötzi was discovered in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps (hence the nickname "Ötzi", German: [œtsi]) at the border between Austria and Italy. He is Europe's oldest known natural human mummy, offering an unprecedented view of Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Europeans.
What would the US look like if all the glaciers melted? ›
The entire Atlantic seaboard would vanish, along with Florida and the Gulf Coast. In California, San Francisco's hills would become a cluster of islands and the Central Valley a giant bay. The Gulf of California would stretch north past the latitude of San Diego—not that there'd be a San Diego.
Were bodies of 2 hikers found in Glacier National Park? ›WEST GLACIER, Mont. — The bodies of two Montana climbers who went missing in Glacier National Park over the weekend were found. The National Park Service said a helicopter search crew found the bodies of the two men, both 67, on Monday.
Who were the bodies found in ice after 75 years? ›A Swiss couple who disappeared from their farm in the Alps during World War II have finally been found, 75 years later, mummified in a glacier. Marcelin, 40, and Francine, 37, Dumoulin went missing on August 15, 1942, after leaving to milk their cows in a meadow near their home.
Have they found the 2 bodies in Glacier National Park? ›The bodies of two missing climbers were also discovered in the Park on Monday. Brian McKenzie Kennedy, 67, and Jack Dewayne Beard, 67, were found by search and rescue after they were reported missing on Sunday. The men began their trip on July 21, according to a press release from the National Parks Service.
Did they find the pilot that jumped out of the plane? ›The incident occurred July 29 about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Charles Hew Crooks, 23, did not have a parachute, and his body was found in a backyard in the town of Fuquay-Varina.
What was the deadliest aviation accident with survivors? ›The deadliest aviation disaster to have had a sole survivor was Northwest Airlines Flight 255, which crashed in Romulus, Michigan, on 16 August 1987, killing 154 of the 155 people on board the aircraft, as well as two people on the ground.
Did they ever find the plane that crashed in the Indian Ocean? ›Several pieces of marine debris found on the coast of Africa and on Indian Ocean islands off the coast of Africa—the first discovered on 29 July 2015 on Réunion—have been confirmed as pieces of Flight 370. The bulk of the aircraft has not been located, prompting many theories about its disappearance.
Were any bodies recovered from Swissair flight 111? ›He says the morgue received an estimated 15 000 body parts but many, such as pieces of skin, were too small to process. Remains were placed in 4 categories: visually identifi- able, identifiable part, large but unidentifiable, and small but unidentifiable.
What aircraft was found in the glacier? ›Below us on the Aletsch glacier is the wreck of a Piper Cherokee aircraft lost in 1968. Hidden for more than half a century, it re-emerged without warning when the ice melted at the start of August.
What were the pilots last words on Swissair Flight 330? ›“330 is crashing,” co-pilot Armand Etienne told the control tower in English. “Goodbye everybody,” he said. "Goodbye everybody." These final words were said at 1:34pm.
Did anyone survive flight 180? ›
Schubert and Kimberly escort him off the plane. Brett, Monica, Nikki, Tony and Heather get off as well, unnerved by Alex's unbridled fear. Shortly after take-off, Flight 180 crashes into a field. There are no survivors.
What plane was found in Top Gear Polar Special? ›Originally Answered: What flight was the plane in the Top Gear Polar Special ? It was a usaf c-47 cargo plane which crashed there in 1949. The plane was taking off from Isachsen, a Arctic research station when it crashed.
How many aircraft have disappeared? ›While it's shocking and strange, it's far from the first time an aircraft has seemed to vanish off the face of the Earth: since 1948, some 83 aircraft have been declared “missing,” according to data compiled by the Aviation Safety Network.
Are there airplanes in Antarctica? ›Air transport
Transport in Antarctica takes place by air, using fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Runways and helicopter pads have to be kept snow-free to ensure safe take off and landing conditions. Antarctica has 20 airports, but there are no developed public-access airports or landing facilities.
The survivors have seen “Alive” several times and plan to watch it again before returning to South America. All three give the movie high marks. “It is 100 percent accurate,” says Parrado, the film's technical adviser. “It has not been dramatized in any way.