Lost in Ice: The long journey of MATS 1107

Mangsatabam Dinachandra Meetei
In the remote mountains of Alaska, glaciers move slowly but steadily, carrying with them the silent records of the past. Beneath one such glacier lay the remains of a tragic air crash that occurred more than seven decades ago. The story of Douglas C-124 Globe-master II flight MATS 1107 is not only a tale of aviation disaster but also a reminder of how nature can hide history for generations.
A Routine Flight
On November 22, 1952, the large military transport aircraft departed from McChord Air Force Base near Seattle. Its destination was Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage, Alaska. On board were 52 passengers and crew members. Some were traveling to new postings in Alaska, while others were preparing for deployments related to the Korean War.
At 7.53 p.m., the crew made their final radio contact using the call sign MATS 1107. At that moment, nothing seemed un- usual. But the harsh weather of Alaska soon began to alter the course of the flight.
A Deadly Change of Course
Strong winds gradually pushed the aircraft away from its intended route. As the plane drifted north, it lost contact with important radio navigation signals that would normally help guide the crew back on track.
Flying through darkness and poor visibility, the aircraft unknowingly approached the steep slopes of Mount Gannett, a towering 9,629-foot peak in Alaska’s rugged Chugach Mountains.
At around 8.15 pm, the plane crashed into the mountainside at high speed, just about 50 miles from its destination. The impact was devastating. The massive aircraft, weighing about 175,000 pounds, likely broke apart almost instantly.
The crash triggered an avalanche that swept fragments of the plane nearly 1,000 feet down the steep slope. The wreckage was scattered across the upper reaches of Colony Glacier.
The Wreckage Disappears
A search plane spotted the wreckage several days later. However, severe storms soon covered the crash site with fresh snow. Rescue operations became impossible, and the search was eventually called off.
Over time, thick layers of snow continued to fall over the site. In the years that followed, as much as 300 feet of snow accumulated above the wreckage. Gradually, the snow compressed into solid ice, trapping the remains of the aircraft deep within the glacier.
A Glacier in Motion
Glaciers are not still masses of ice. They move slowly downhill under their own weight. As Colony Glacier flowed toward lower ground, it carried the hidden wreckage along with it. Each year the ice moved several hundred feet, silently transporting pieces of the aircraft through the frozen valley.
Decades passed, and the crash faded from public memory. Yet beneath the glacier, the remains of the aircraft continued their slow journey.
Through the Ice Fall
Sometime during the 1980s, the buried wreckage likely passed through the Colony Ice Fall, one of the most turbulent sections of the glacier. Here the ice plunges nearly 3,000 feet down a steep slope and breaks into enormous blocks.
These blocks, sometimes as large as apartment buildings, collide and crack as the glacier moves. In this violent environment, pieces of the aircraft would have been crushed, scattered, and mixed with the shifting ice.
For the families of those on board, the glacier had become a vast frozen grave.
Reappearing After Decades
As the glacier continued its slow descent to lower and warmer elevations, the surface ice began to melt each summer. The glacier gradually lost several feet of thickness every year.
This melting slowly brought the deeply buried wreckage closer to the surface. After many decades, fragments of the lost aircraft began to reappear from the ice.
A Story That May Still Disappear
Today, Colony Glacier continues to slide toward a large lake at its base. If the glacier carries debris from the crash into the lake, some remains may sink to the bottom and be lost forever.
At the same time, scientists warn that glaciers around the world are melting faster due to climate change. While melting ice may reveal hidden traces of the past, it may also erase them before they can be properly recovered.
Memory Preserved in Ice
The story of MATS 1107 shows how powerful natural forces can preserve history in unexpected ways. For more than seventy years, the glacier slowly carried the wreckage down the mountain, protecting its secrets beneath layers of ice.
Although the passengers and crew never reached their destination, their story continues to endure—hidden in the frozen landscape of Alaska, waiting to be remembered.