| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 April 1986 |
| Summary | Air crash |
| Site | Ljósufjöll, Iceland |
 A Piper PA-23-250 Aztec, similar to the one that crashed. | |
| Aircraft type | Piper PA-23-250 Aztec |
| Registration | TF-ORM |
| Flight origin | Ísafjörður Airport, Iceland |
| Destination | Reykjavík Airport, Iceland |
| Passengers | 6 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Injuries | 2 |
The 1986 Ljósufjöll air crash was a plane crash that happened on 5 April 1986 at 13:26 when a Piper PA-23-250 Aztec plane from Flugfélagið Ernir, TF-ORM, crashed in Ljósufjöll in Snæfellsnes, Iceland.[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]
The wreckage of the plane was found on the northern slopes of Ljósufjöll, at an altitude of 700 meters, 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.[7][8]
Aftermath
Three days after the crash, survivor Pálmar Gunnarsson, who lost his wife and child in the crash, told his story in an interview with Morgunblaðið.[9] The interview caused a considerable backlash towards the newspaper and doctors at Borgarspítalinn.[10][11]
Survivors
- Pálmar Gunnarsson, 36 – police officer from Ísafjörður[9]
- Kristján Jón Guðmundsson, 29 – footballer for Fylkir.[12][13][14][15]
Victims
The following five individuals were killed in the crash.[16]
- Smári Ferdinandsson, 34 – pilot
- Auður Erla Albertsdóttir, 26 – fiancee of Pálmar Gunnarsson and mother of Erla Björk
- Erla Björk Pálmarsdóttir, 11 months – daughter of Auður Erla and Pálmar Gunnarsson
- Kristján Sigurðsson, 49 – farmer and father of actor Víkingur Kristjánsson[17]
- Sigurður Auðunsson, 56 – economist consultant
References
- ^ "Tveir lifðu af - fimm fórust í flugslysinu". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 7 April 1986. pp. 1, 4, 5, 48. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Tveir komust lífs af". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. p. 1. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Huldar Breiðfjörð (1 December 2011). "Flugslysið í Ljósufjöllum". Bæjarins Besta (in Icelandic). p. 14. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Halla Ólafsdóttir (8 April 2020). "Ljósufjöll". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Sjöunda mesta slys íslenskrar flugsögu". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Arnar Þór Ingólfsson (12 June 2019). "Fyrsta banaslysið í flugi frá 2015". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Flugvélin nötraði og kastaðist til í loftinu". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. pp. 1, 22, 23, 52–56. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Guðni Einarsson (7 March 1993). "Af hverju ég?". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 18–19. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Þrýsti barninu að mér og reyndi að verja konuna". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 9 April 1986. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Trúin og bænin hafa veitt mér hugarró og hjálp". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 24 April 1986. pp. 40–41. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Þorbjörg Magnúsdóttir. "Blaðamenn eiga ekki erindi við slasaða". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 4. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Mér hefði líklega blætt út, ef kuldinn hefði ekki verið svona mikill". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 22 October 1986. pp. 24–25. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ Huldar Breiðfjörð (22 December 2011). "Hef alltaf verið flughræddur". Bæjarsins Besta (in Icelandic). pp. 14–15. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "Löggjafinn viðheldur smánarbótum". Helgarpósturinn (in Icelandic). 17 June 1987. pp. 7–9. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Kristján úr leik". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. p. 9. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Þau sem fórust með TF-ORM". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 8 April 1986. p. 56. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "Missti föður sinn í flugslysinu í Ljósufjöllum". Bæjarins Besta (in Icelandic). 7 November 2013. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
External links
- Report of the Air Accident Committee
- Ljósufjöll, 2020. (in Icelandic): A three part radio series on RÚV about the crash and its aftermath.
Further reading
- Útkall - Ofviðri í Ljósufjöllum, 2017. (in Icelandic): Book by Óttar Sveinsson about the accident.