Witnesses describe low, fast approach in fatal Alaska Piper crash

A Piper PA-24-260 Comanche crashed near Seldovia Airport in Alaska last month, killing the pilot and three passengers. Witnesses told the NTSB, in its preliminary report, that the aircraft was approaching unusually low and fast.

The single-engine aircraft left the gravel runway at the end and came to rest in the Seldovia Slough. Aerial photos of the airfield show water off both the approach and departure ends of the runway.

The report, released Wednesday, says one witness saw the aircraft bounce three times on Runway 16 and then heard the engine go to full throttle, which the witness took as a possible go-around attempt. That witness said the nosewheel appeared to touch first, and that after the engine sound rose, the aircraft pitched up steeply and may have struck its tail.

A second witness said the PA-24 passed the runway end flying unusually low while trying to land opposite to the direction other traffic was using. Several witnesses recalled the aircraft hitting a tree before it went down in the water.

The flight was a Part 91 personal trip from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage to Seldovia. The accident occurred around 1:17 p.m. local time on August 26, per the preliminary report. The Alaska Department of Public Safety said in August that the Piper was fully submerged in water beside the airport. Bystanders tried to reach the four occupants but could not get to them.

Runway 16 is 1,845 feet long. The report notes FAA data listing trees about 158 feet tall roughly 1,735 feet from the runway threshold and 110 feet left of the centerline as obstacles. Conditions recorded by the airport's automated weather station included wind from the north.