The Icelandic Transport Accident Investigation Board has published findings into an emergency landing on Suðurlandsvegur — the main highway in South Iceland — after an engine failure during a ferry flight in May 2025. The aircraft, en route from the United States to the United Kingdom with several planned stops, landed on the road after the pilot reported a sudden loss of engine power and visible oil leakage.
Sequence of events
The board’s account states the aircraft took off from Reykjavík Airport at 22:54 on 26 May 2025. At about 23:05, approximately 1.6 nautical miles southwest of runway 13 at Sandskeið Airfield, the engine failed, the propeller stopped and an oil leak impaired the pilot’s forward visibility. At 23:06 the pilot did not see Sandskeið Airfield while gliding and elected to land on the highway.
- The aircraft landed on Suðurlandsvegur; its right wing struck a traffic sign and then scraped a guardrail.
- The aircraft came to rest near a large yellow road sign; neither the pilot nor his dog were injured.
- Members of the public assisted at the scene and helped move the aircraft so it did not entirely block the road.
Investigation findings
The investigation identified two salient factors reported by the board. First, air traffic control did not inform the pilot that Sandskeið Airfield was the nearest airfield at the time the engine failure occurred. Second, the investigation examined the aircraft’s maintenance history and found it had not undergone its annual inspections between 2022 and 2024 because the engine had been removed and sent for inspection and rebuilding; the rebuild was only completed in 2025.
The report notes the engine crankcase had a history of earlier repairs that were referenced during reassembly of the rebuilt engine. The published findings link the maintenance and inspection history to the post-failure examination but stop short of assigning a causal determination beyond the factual record in the board’s report.
Safety implications
The board’s narrative documents the operational challenge facing the pilot: an unexpected engine stoppage at night, degraded forward visibility due to oil on the windscreen and the rapid necessity to identify a survivable landing surface. The board recorded that the pilot opted for the highway and that public assistance contributed to keeping the road clear.
The investigation also highlights procedural and maintenance matters that investigators considered relevant to the sequence of events, including communication from air traffic services and the aircraft’s prolonged absence from annual inspections while the engine was out for overhaul.
Timeline
| event | time (local) |
|---|---|
| takeoff from Reykjavík Airport | 22:54 |
| engine failure and propeller stoppage | 23:05 |
| pilot failed to spot Sandskeið Airfield while gliding | 23:06 |
| landing on Suðurlandsvegur | shortly thereafter |
The investigation report is published by the Icelandic Transport Accident Investigation Board and contains the factual record and analysis that led to these findings. The board’s conclusions focus on the documented sequence and maintenance history rather than attributing cause beyond the evidence set out in the report.
