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| Date: | Friday 25 July 2025 |
| Time: | 09:16 |
| Type: |  Piper J3C-65 Cub |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N5050R |
| MSN: | 15301 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1945 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Dillingham Airport (DLG/PADL), Dillingham, AK -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Dillingham Municipal Airport, AK (DLG/PADL) |
| Dillingham Municipal Airport, AK (DLG/PADL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On July 25, 2025, about 0916 Alaska daylight time, a Piper J3C-65 airplane, N5050R, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Dillingham, Alaska. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to witnesses, shortly after performing a touch-and-go landing on the gravel surface adjacent to Runway 19 at the Dillingham Airport, as the airplane climbed to an altitude of about 200 ft above the runway, the engine experienced a momentary loss of power, followed by an engine restart. The nose of the airplane then pitched up, slowed, and the left wing stalled, resulting in an uncontrolled, nose-down, vertical descent. During the descent, the airplane engine reportedly experienced another loss of power.
The airplane impacted the runway approximately 680 feet northeast of the departure end of Runway 19 and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. (See figure 1)
A witness captured a portion of the accident sequence on a cell phone video. See figures 2A and 2B.
The wreckage has been moved to a secure location and a detailed NTSB examination is pending.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/07/25/small-plane-crash-dillingham-airport-state-confirms/
https://alaskapublic.org/news/2025-07-25/pilot-killed-in-small-plane-crash-at-dillingham-airport
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N5050R
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/5/88813_1542308968.jpg (photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 13 August 1951 | F-OAHR | Aéro-Club de Casablanca | 0 | Imfout |  |
w/o |
| 16 March 1952 | F-OAHR | Aéro-Club de Casablanca | 2 | Tit-Mellil | |
w/o |
| Mid-air collision | ||||||
| 22 September 2007 | N5050R | Private | 0 | Tyonek, Alaska | |
sub |
Location
Media:
NTSB is investigating the July 25 crash of a Piper J3C airplane near Dillingham, Alaska.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 25, 2025
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Jul-2025 20:22 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 26-Jul-2025 07:06 | gerard57 | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Jul-2025 16:39 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 30-Jul-2025 09:24 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Aug-2025 20:51 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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