GENEVA (AP) — Mountain rescuers have recovered the propeller of a U.S. Air Force plane that crashed in November 1946 on a glacier in the Bernese Alps.

The crash of the Douglas C-53 Skytrooper on the Gauli Glacier marked the first time a rescue mission used an aircraft to land on a glacier and led to the creation of Switzerland's air rescue services.

The propeller was removed Thursday from the glacier and taken to nearby Gauli hut at 2,205 meters (7,234 feet).

Swiss newspaper Der Bund reported three young climbers found a piece of the propeller about three kilometers from the crash site in late July.

The plane went down in poor visibility on its way from Austria to Italy with four crew members and eight passengers, causing some injuries but no fatalities.