View source for 1979 Mosfellsheiði air crashes

{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| occurrence_type = Accident
| name = 1979 Mosfellsheiði air crashes
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| date = 18 December 1979
| type = Air crashes
| site = Mosfellsheiði, Iceland
| coordinates =
| total_injuries = 11
| plane1_image = Cessna 172 C-GDQG.jpg
| plane1_caption = A Cessna 172M, similar to the one that crashed.
| plane1_type = [[Cessna 172]]
| aircraft_name = 
| plane1_tailnum = TF-EKK
| plane1_origin = 
| plane1_destination = [[Reykjavík Airport]], Iceland
| plane1_passengers = 3
| plane1_crew = 1
| plane1_fatalities = 
| plane1_injuries = 4
| plane2_image = HH-3E at Kirtland AFB 1980.JPEG
| plane2_caption = Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, similar to the one that crashed.
| plane2_type = [[Sikorsky HH-3E]]
| plane2_operator = [[67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron]] (67th ARRS), [[United States Air Force]] (USAF)
| plane2_tailnum = 
| plane2_origin = [[Naval Air Station Keflavik]], Iceland
| plane2_destination = Reykjavík, Iceland
| plane2_passengers = 5
| plane2_crew = 5
| plane2_injuries = 10
}}
The '''1979 Mosfellsheiði air crashes''' where two [[Aviation accidents and incidents|aviation accidents]] in [[Iceland]] that occurred about four hours apart on 18 December 1979 on a [[heath]] between [[Reykjavík]] and [[Þingvellir]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Kraftaverk að neistaeldurinn skyldi slokkna |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=3090525 |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=Dagblaðið |date=19 December 1979 |page=1|language=Icelandic}}</ref> The first accident occurred when a [[Cessna 172|Cessna F172M Skyhawk]] aircraft, with four on board, crashed into the heath. The second accident occurred when a [[Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant]] rescue helicopter of the [[67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron]] [[United States Air Force]] (USAF), from the [[Iceland Defense Force]] at [[Naval Air Station Keflavik]], crashed with three of the injured from the previous accident, two Icelandic doctors and a five-man U.S. crew shortly after takeoff from the first crash site.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sérfræðingar komnir til að rannsaka þyrluslysið |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1521500 |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[Morgunblaðið]] |date=22 December 1979 |page=2 |language=Icelandic}}</ref><ref name="mbl1">{{cite news |title=Ellefu á sjúkrahús eftir tvö flugslys |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?issId=117691 |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[Morgunblaðið]] |date=19 December 1979 |pages=1, 2 |language=Icelandic}}</ref>

==The accidents==
On 18 December 1979, a Cessna 172 aircraft, with registration number TF-EKK, took off from [[Reykjavík Airport]] with a French pilot, a New Zealander and two Finnish girls who worked as [[physiotherapists]] in Reykjalundur, on a sight-seeing tour around [[Gullfoss]] and [[Þingvellir]]. On its way back it crashed in heavy [[fog]] on the Mosfellsheiði heath.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Kristín Sigurðardóttir |title=Lenti í 2 flugslysum sama daginn á Mosfellsheiði |url=https://www.ruv.is/frett/lenti-i-2-flugslysum-sama-daginn-a-mosfellsheidi |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[RÚV]] |date=7 November 2019 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> At around 15:20, the plane was reported missing and a signal from its emergency transmitter was detected. Shortly afterwards, a search plane discovered the wreckage on the heath, a short distance south of Þingvallarvegur, where it had broken up and turned upside down.

A helicopter from the Defense Force at Keflavík Airport that happened to be on a training mission nearby went to the scene and transported the New Zealander to Reykjavík, while leaving two crew members to attend to the other occupants, whose injuries were more severe, and wait for the Icelandic [[Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue|SAR]] teams who arrived shortly later. After taking two doctors from [[Borgarspítalinn]], fuel and offloading two of its crewmembers, the helicopter returned to the scene of the accident to pick up the Finns and the French pilot.

Shortly after the helicopter took off again from the scene of the accident, it lost power and crashed to the ground several hundred meters from the wreckage of the Cessna.<ref name="mbl1"/> Rescuers, including photographer [[Ragnar Axelsson]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Ég var sannfærður um að þyrlan spryngi |url=https://timarit.is/page/1521354 |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[Morgunblaðið]] |date=19 December 1979 |page=32 |language=Icelandic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Júlía Margrét Einarsdóttir |author2=Sigurlaug M. Jónasdóttir |title=Þetta eru myndir sem ég sýni engum |url=https://www.ruv.is/frett/2020/04/03/thetta-eru-myndir-sem-eg-syni-engum |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[RÚV]] |date=3 April 2020 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> rushed to the second crash site and were confronted with the mangled remains of the helicopter and [[Kerosene]] fumes filling the air. A 19-year old SAR member, Hallgrímur Skúli Karlsson, who was one of the first at the scene managed to prevent a fire in the wreckage by cutting main power of the helicopter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Snarræði björgunarmanna fólkinu til lífs |url=https://timarit.is/page/3410866 |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[Vísir]] |date=19 December 1979 |page=1 |language=Icelandic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Þórunn Kristjánsdóttir |title=Lifði af tvö flugslys sama daginn |url=https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2019/11/07/vid_hittumst_aftur_elskan/ |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[Morgunblaðið]] |date=7 November 2019 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> After the second accident, the injured were transported about 1-1.5&nbsp;km to ambulances that took them to Borgarspítali.<ref>{{cite news |title=Allt tiltækt lið kallað út á sjúkrahúsin |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1521334 |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[Morgunblaðið]] |date=19 December 1979 |page=12 |language=Icelandic}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
In the aftermath of the accidents, the lack of equipment of the SAR-units was criticised, especially its lack of [[two-way radio]]s which was largely a result of the Icelandic governments [[tariff]]s that doubled its prices.<ref>{{cite news |author1=[[Jónas Kristjánsson]] |title=Átta og hálfur tími |url=https://timarit.is/page/3090722 |access-date=6 September 2020 |work=[[Dagblaðið]] |date=28 December 1979 |page=10 |language=Icelandic}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Útkall - Tifandi tímasprengja'', 2019. {{in lang|is}}: Book by [[Óttar Sveinsson]] about the accidents.

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Iceland}}
[[Category:1979 in Iceland]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1979|Icelandic]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Iceland]]