Photos Lockheed Constellation left behind

No one was injured when the Lockheed Constellation ‘Pegasus’ crash landed onto the icy fields of Antarctica on October 8, 1970. The ill-fated flight had run into a storm and was forced to crash land in impossible weather conditions. Where the aircraft dramatically slid to a halt nearly 35 years ago is the exact same position it lies today, half-buried in snow.

RL-aircraft-PICT0002-orig.webp


Noel Gillespie describes the Pegasus’ last moments…

“I remember watching with absolute horror, the No. 4 propeller spinning off the engine. Moments later No. 4 engine ripped off it’s mount, as if by some giant hand followed by No. 3 propeller then No. 3 engine then the entire right wing. While I recall it in slow motion, I doubt that the whole chain of events took more than a few seconds … A very eerie temporary silence ensued. Hardly a word was spoken on the flight deck. Seconds later we started a rapid evacuation on the left side of the aircraft, putting all our endless hours of emergency training to work. It was only a half a mile from the aircraft parking and cargo staging area, but it took over three hours for anyone to locate the crashed aircraft..”
 

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