“We found an engine block with the propeller, some parts of the wing and a lot of small pieces, bits of sheet metal, wooden parts and also some blankets. The Americans have given the plane to the government.” -Fritz Teuscher, Head of the Recovery Team

Melting glacial ice has revealed the remains of an American Dakota C-53, which landed on the Gauli Glacier in the Bernese Oberland in 1946. Swiss Info reports some parts of the plane remain encased in ice including the cockpit but up to two tons of material has been recovered and airlifted to the valley. 

The Dakota ended up in its high altitude resting place on November 19, 1946, after going off course in fog and making an emergency landing in the Bernese Alps. It was spotted by happenstance 3,350 meters up the Gauli Glacier and Swiss military pilots launched the world’s first rescue in the high mountains from the air. The Swiss flight crew successfully recovered the 12 Dakota passengers safely to nearby Meiringen. The rescue operation is regarded as the birth of the air rescue service (READ WIKIPEDIA ACCOUNT OF RESCUE HERE).

Parts of the wreckage will be put on display in an exhibition at the tourist center in the village of Innertkirchen.

images from Wikipedia

Unofficial Networks Newsletter

Get the latest snow and mountain lifestyle news and entertainment delivered to your inbox.

Hidden
Newsletters
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.