Alaska military airstrip crash in fog kills eight on second landing attempt

A small charter plane crashed during a second landing attempt in heavy fog at Alaska's Cape Newenham military airstrip, killing all eight on board. The tragedy has prompted a federal investigation into weather, flight decisions and safety at the remote radar outpost.Stock photo used for illustrationA small plane crashed during its second attempt to land at a remote military airport in Alaska in heavy fog, killing all eight people on board, federal investigators said on Friday. The crash happened around midday on Thursday at the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport, about 725 km west of Anchorage.The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilots were unable to see the runway and had to rely entirely on instruments as they tried to land. The two pilots and six passengers who died were not immediately identified, though the US Army Corps of Engineers said two of its employees were among those killed.The airport is a private military site managed by the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center. It is part of a network of remote radar sites that tracks aircraft operating in Alaska's airspace and along its borders, according to a statement from Alaskan Command. The radar site was built in the 1950s as part of a network meant to provide early warning of a missile attack by the Soviet Union. It now monitors the skies off the coast in the direction of Russia, North Korea and China.The site has a gravel airstrip built on the slope of a mountain, and the Federal Aviation Administration recommends that pilots use GPS and other instruments when landing there. The outpost at Cape Newenham closed in 1983 after a new radar was installed, and the site is now visited only occasionally by civilian contractors carrying out maintenance work. Weather conditions were changing on Thursday as heavy fog moved through the area. Carrie Haisley, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's Alaska sector operations centre, said an automated observation system near the airport reported a low cloud ceiling, fog and visibility of about 16 km in the minutes before the crash. The next update, about 15 minutes after the crash, showed visibility had fallen sharply to less than 0.40 km.Lt Gen Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and Eleventh Air Force, said those on board were "dedicated professionals carrying out a vital mission in a demanding environment". He added, "This is a devastating loss for our military family and the communities we serve." The US Army Corps of Engineers said its two employees were part of a "project delivery team en route to a project site in support of the US Air Force", but did not give further details about the work. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were travelling to the scene on Friday. Mike O'Donnell, who oversaw airport safety programmes and accident investigations for much of his 17 years at the FAA, said investigators would want to know whether the pilots declared an emergency or whether the aircraft simply went missing before the crash, as well as the weather conditions at the time.US Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska posted online that the flight was operated by Security Aviation, a charter company based in Anchorage. The company did not immediately respond on Friday to an email seeking comment. Murkowski said, "I join Alaskans in offering condolences as we learn of the plane crash in Cape Newenham. I've travelled extensively with Security Aviation throughout Alaska, and have met many of their experienced pilots." In sum, investigators are now examining the crash of the plane as it tried to land in worsening fog at the remote Alaska military airstrip, where all eight people on board were killed.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 22, 2026 02:14 IST