Melting Swiss glacier reveals wreckage from 1963 aircraft accident

Around 250 kilograms of aircraft debris have been recovered from the Hüfifirn Glacier in the Swiss canton of Uri after melting ice exposed wreckage hidden for more than six decades.

A mountaineer reported the discovery to the cantonal police. An investigation conducted with the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board concluded that the material “most likely” came from an aircraft that crashed on the glacier in 1963. The debris will now be recycled.

Several aviation incidents occurred near the Clariden Pass in May 1963. A Champion light aircraft crashed on 9 May, followed the next day by a Piper Super Cub involved in a recovery attempt. No one was injured in either accident.

Although the Champion was eventually removed, efforts to retrieve the Piper repeatedly failed. During the final attempt on 22 May, its suspended wreckage began swinging violently beneath a helicopter and had to be released, falling several hundred metres back onto the glacier.

The remains were never recovered with the limited equipment available at the time and only reappeared as the glacier retreated. Their removal on 3 September involved investigators, Uri police, private helicopter and transport companies, and the Swiss Air Force’s mountain detachment.