Four killed after plane crashes into Seldovia Slough

THE ALASKA STORY

Aug. 26, 2026 – Four people were killed Wednesday afternoon when a small plane traveling from Anchorage crashed into Seldovia Slough and sank beneath the water near the community’s airport.

 The aircraft was identified as a Piper PA-24 Comanche that had departed Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage and was bound for Seldovia. The plane did not reach the airport.

Alaska State Troopers were notified of the crash at 1:18 pm and they along with Alaska Wildlife Troopers traveled from Anchor Point aboard the Department of Public Safety patrol vessel Augustine. DPS Helo 3 was also dispatched from Anchorage.

The aircraft was completely submerged after the crash. Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional office, said it was under approximately 15 feet of water in the slough near shore.

The depth of the water and changing tide prevented responders from immediately reaching the occupants. Troopers waited several hours for the tide to fall before gaining access to the wreckage.

At approximately 6:30 pm, responders recovered the bodies of four deceased adults from inside the plane, according to the Department of Public Safety.

The remains are being transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsies. The names of the victims will be withheld until their identities have been confirmed and relatives have been notified.

A Piper PA-24-260 is a single-engine, retractable-gear airplane commonly known as the Comanche, which can carry four passengers.

The precise registration number and ownership of the aircraft had not been publicly released as of late Wednesday.

The publicly owned Seldovia Airport sits at an elevation of only 29 feet and has one 1,845-foot gravel runway, designated Runway 16/34. The airport is located near the slough and less than a mile east of the community. FAA airport information advises pilots of trees near both runway approaches and notes that wind shear may be experienced on the approach to Runway 16.

No cause for Wednesday’s crash has been established. Investigators had not said whether the aircraft was on its final approach, whether the pilot reported trouble, or whether weather, mechanical problems or other circumstances may have played a role.

The NTSB confirmed that it has opened an investigation. A preliminary report will likely provide the airplane’s registration, flight path and initial information gathered from witnesses and examination of the wreckage. Such reports generally establish the known facts but do not assign a probable cause, which can take a year or longer to determine.

The crash is Alaska’s third fatal aviation accident in one month and the second in less than a week.

Eight people were killed Aug. 20 when a Security Aviation Cessna 441 crashed while attempting to reach the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site in western Alaska. Three others died July 27 when a Piper PA-22 struck a berm near the private upper Dan Creek airstrip outside McCarthy.

Including the four people killed Wednesday at Seldovia, those three crashes have claimed 15 lives.