Piper PA22 accident near Chitina, AK
On July 28, 2026, a Piper PA22 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Chitina, AK. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 28, 2026
- Place
- Chitina, AK
- Aircraft
- Piper PA22 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 61.377°N, 142.557°W
- NTSB ID
- 20260728203476
NTSB summary
On July 27, 2026, about 2130 Alaska daylight time, a deregistered Piper PA-22-150 airplane, N4535A, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Chitina, Alaska. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to witnesses, the pilot and two passengers departed McCarthy Airport, McCarthy, Alaska, to drop off the passengers and supplies at the upper Dan Creek airstrip, located about 12 miles southeast of McCarthy. The upper Dan Creek airstrip is an uncharted private strip that is generally considered one way in and out, surrounded by steeply rising terrain, and go-arounds are not recommended. Multiple witnesses, located on the ground in the vicinity of the airstrip, reported hearing the airplane approaching the southeast runway for landing at a normal approach power setting. The witnesses stated that they then heard the airplane’s engine increase to a high-power setting, then there was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of an impact. The airplane impacted a berm on a rock-covered riverbank in a left-wing-low flight attitude about 740 ft north of the airstrip. The wreckage was oriented on a northwest heading. All four corners of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. The outboard portion of the left wing was bent downwards and aft. The fuselage, inboard left wing, and portions of the inboard right wing were consumed by a postimpact fire. During the onsite investigation, no preimpact anomalies were visually observed with the flight control
More accidents in AK
- Beech 1900C, Nov 23, 1987
- Textron Aviation Inc 208B, Feb 6, 2025
- Dehavilland DHC-3, Jul 7, 2013
- Cessna 208, Oct 10, 2001
- Dehavilland DHC-3, Jun 25, 2015
Browse: Alaska · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
