A video of a man exploring the ruins of a plane crash that allegedly dates back to the 1950s has gone viral on TikTok.
The footage was shared on July 9 by TikTok user Josh the Intern (@joshtheintern) and has 5.9 million views at the time of writing. A voice in the video says: "I found a plane crash in a remote mountain range on Google Earth. So I headed out on a hiking adventure to go check it out."
The man in the video walks past a stream of water across a grass field. A message overlaid on the clip reads: "I followed a river up and out of the valley, along the way coming across this large brick ruin...after exploring it for a bit, I continued on my hike, heading deeper into nature and towards the mountain I would soon be climbing."
"But as I reached the base of it, the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse," he said.
The man climbs up a hill, battered by wind and rain. "So I had to battle my way through rain up the mountain. It was a very steep climb with no trail," he said. "But eventually I made it to the summit just in time for the rain to stop and to be greeted with an amazing view," as the video pans to an aerial shot over a vast green landscape.
"I then walked along the mountain ridge, until heading off trail again and hiking down into a valley and reaching the base of the valley, I found the ruins of the plane I was searching for," he says, as the man approaches what appears to be the plane debris.
@joshtheintern Hiking to a plane wreck I found on Google Earth! 🌎 #hiking #hikingadventures #googleearth #adventure #outdooradventures
♬ Blade Runner 2049 - Synthwave Goose
The clip shows large scraps of what appears to be a destroyed aircraft scattered over the grass field. "With some later research, I found that it was a Viper plane that crashed here in 1953 due to clouds covering the mountain," he said.
The exact location of the crash site and the origins of the plane in the video were not revealed.
However, some TikTokers said the latest clip could be showing the ruins of a de Havilland Vampire jet crash. User @pickedtuna claimed it appeared to be the remains of "a de havilland vampire vz106 that crashed on Fan Hir (a peak in Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales)." User The Danger Zone also said, "It's a de Havilland Vampire for anyone interested."
According to the database of the Aviation Safety Network (ASN) of the Flight Safety Foundation, an international nonprofit, a "de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB Mk 5"—an aircraft of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom—crashed on the western slope of Fan Hir on October 9, 1953, killing the pilot.
The ASN website says: "The aircraft was the leading aircraft or a pair returning to base at the completion of a training navigation exercise. The pair of Vampires descended rapidly through cloud. On breaking through the cloud, the number two aircraft of the pair pulled up sharply to avoid the ground, but the leading aircraft continued to descend, and flew into the West slope of Fan Hir..."
"The setting is wild and the ground is rough, but overcome it and you'll find the wreckage at Map Reference SN826201, at approximate coordinates 51:51.9725N 3:42.2997W," the website adds.
According to data from the U.S. National Transport Safety Board (NTSB), there were a total of 1,301 U.S. civil aviation accidents reported in 2019, 248 of which were fatal.
The 2019 total includes 1,220 accidents within the general aviation category, which covers a range of operations and aircraft, from powered parachutes and light-sport aircraft to jets used for various types of flying. "General aviation includes some types of commercial activities," the NTSB notes.
TikTok users were intrigued by the discovery of the plane wreck and impressed by the surrounding landscape.
User KBoe said: "wow since the 50s and still there."
CineVerse said: "I love valleys like these, nothing but grass and sky to the end."
Samuel G. said the area has a "Lord of the Rings vibe," and donkingpo agreed, commenting that the original poster was "livin the hobbit life."
Newsweek reached out to @joshtheintern via TikTok for comment. This video has not been independently verified.
Do you have a travel-related story or dilemma? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
Soo ... Read more
