Piper PA-24 Crashes Off Alaska Coast, Killing 4

Preliminary investigation determines small aircraft submerged completely after going down near Seldovia.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 04:30 PM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

The airport at Seldovia, about 136 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. [Credit: Rebecca Douglas/Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities]

Key Takeaways:

A Piper PA-24-260 Comanche crashed off the coast of Alaska, killing all four occupants, with the NTSB initiating a full investigation into the incident.
This crash marks the second fatal aviation accident in Alaska within a week.
Alaska has a significantly higher aircraft accident rate compared to the rest of the U.S., which the U.S. Transportation Secretary has deemed "unacceptable."
The FAA is undertaking a $12.5 billion modernization effort, including the installation of numerous new weather stations and cameras in Alaska, to address the high accident rate.

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A Piper PA-24-260 Comanche crashed off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday, killing all four occupants, according to officials.

Per a news release from state troopers with the Alaska Department of Public Safety, the small airplane departed Merrill Field Airport (PAMR) in Anchorage and was bound for the community of Seldovia, located about 136 miles southwest of Anchorage on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. A preliminary investigation determined that the aircraft submerged completely after crashing.