Piper PA-22-160 N8953D accident, Russian Mission, AK, Jun 11, 2026 · NTSB ANC26LA056

Date: June 11, 2026, 14:05 local (22:05 UTC)
Place: Russian Mission, AK
Injuries: 2 uninjured
Damage: Substantial damage
Phase of flight: Landing
Aircraft: N8953DPiper PA-22-160
Defining event: Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
Weather: Visual (VMC) · Day
Status: Investigation ongoing
Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office
Parties: FAA
FAA report: 20260611006059A
Case key: 203199

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Hard landingLanding-flare/touchdownPiper PA-22-160: 3 cases All aircraft: 2,102 casesDefining event

Aircraft

Registration: N8953D
Reported as: Piper PA-22-160
Category: Airplane
Serial number: 22-6112
Built: 1958
Airframe hours: 5,442
Damage: Substantial damage
Flight: Business · Part 91
Operator: Vassal Ministries
Registered owner: Vassal Ministries
Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
Last inspection: Annual · June 5, 2026 · 6 hours before
Departed: 95Z · North Pole, AK
Destination: 95Z · North Pole, AK
Airport: 9AK2 · Kako Airport, runway 27, 2,600 × 75 ft, gravel
Equipment: Handheld GPS

N8953DRegistered now · Piper PA-22-160S/N 22-6112 · Built 1958 Airframe modelPiper PA-22-160 Engine modelLycoming 0-320 seriesReciprocating

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Weather

Conditions: Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind: 150° at 7 knots
Visibility: 10 statute miles
Temperature: 48 °F, dew point 43 °F
Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
Observed at: PARS, 8 nm away
METAR: METAR PARS 112156Z AUTO 15007KT 10SM SCT018 09/06 A3022 RMK AO2 SLP238 T00890056 $

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.

Accident 20260611006059APiper PA-22-160 · Russian Mission, AKOn June 11, 2026, at approximately 14:05 AKDT, a Piper PA-22 aircraft operated by a commercial certificated pilot was involved in an accident while landing at Kako (9AK2) airstrip, Russian Mission, AK. The aircraft received substantial damage to the lower aft…Jun 11, 2026 · N8953D · Substantial damage

Other investigations on N8953D · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

NTSB NYC68D0318Accident · No injuriesClosedCoudersport, PADec 2, 1967 · Substantial damage