Eight people were killed when a chartered Cessna 441 crashed while approaching a remote US military radar installation in western Alaska.
The twin-engine turboprop went down on land west of Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport at approximately 12:15 local time on August 20, 2026, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The aircraft had departed Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) with two pilots and six passengers aboard. Rescuers reached the crash site and confirmed there were no survivors.
The US Army Corps of Engineers said it chartered the flight and that two of its employees were among those killed. The agency has not identified the employees or disclosed the purpose of their visit.
“We are coordinating closely with the appropriate local, state, and federal authorities,” the Army Corps’ Alaska District said.
The aircraft was operated by Anchorage-based Security Aviation. FAA registration records identify it as N128EZ, a 1979 Cessna 441 Conquest II.
Security Aviation operates a fleet of Conquest IIs on charter flights across Alaska. The pressurized turboprops can carry as many as nine passengers and cruise at up to 285 knots, according to the company.
The aircraft was approaching Cape Newenham when it crashed, Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) Alaska office, told local media.
Cape Newenham LRRS Airport is a private US Air Force airstrip approximately 450 miles west of Anchorage. It provides access to a long-range radar station that monitors aircraft operating over Alaska and near the state’s borders.
The airport has a single gravel runway, Runway 15/33, measuring approximately 3,945 feet long and 150 feet wide. The runway sits on the slope of a mountain and rises more than 300 feet from one end to the other.
FAA airport information warns of high terrain on both sides of the runway and at its southern end. It also cautions that a successful go-around is improbable.
Runway 15 is the only runway at the airport with an instrument approach.
Fog was reported in the area at the time of the accident.
“This is a devastating loss for our military family and the communities we serve,” US Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and Eleventh Air Force, said in a statement. “Every individual on board was a dedicated professional supporting a vital mission in one of the most challenging environments in the world.”
The radar installation is managed by the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center and belongs to a network of remote sites supporting the defense of US airspace around Alaska.
The NTSB is leading the investigation with assistance from the FAA and other federal and state agencies. Investigators have not released information about the condition of the wreckage, the aircraft’s final flight path or any possible mechanical problems.
The identities of the pilots and passengers had not been released.