Three Killed in Piper Cherokee Crash in Woods Near Bowie, Maryland
ABC News reported three deaths in the June 20, 2026 crash; the National Transportation Safety Board, the FAA and Maryland State Police are investigating and the cause has not been determined.
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Reference data
From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.
- Registration
- N249WF
- Type
- Piper PA-28-181
- Engines
- LYCOMING O&VO-360 SER
- Registered owner
- Wifa (washington International Flight Academy) LlcThe owner of record is not necessarily the operator, the pilot, or otherwise connected to the flight.
- Terrain elevation
- 164 ft
- Nearest aerodrome
- 4.6 miles N of Freeway Airport (W00)
Sources
- 3 killed in private plane crash in Maryland identified: Police - ABC Newsabcnews.com
- https://www.flywifa.com/one-pager
- https://www.captechu.edu/news-events/capitol-technology-university-announces-new-aviation-degree-and-partnership-wifa
- https://pilotcareercenter.com/Pilot-Training-Flight-School/USA/Maryland/9318/Washington-International-Flight-Academy
- https://www.buzzfile.com/business/Washington-International-Flight-Academy-240-246-7529
- https://thecustodianus.com/washington-international-flight-academy/
- https://www.flightaware.com/resources/registration/N2927Q
Revision history
- Version 57 Aug 2026, 15:10current
Headline and dek rewritten to lead with the date and the undetermined cause; body unchanged in substance.
- Version 45 Aug 2026, 21:21
No new facts; headline and dek rewritten to lead with the reported toll and the undetermined cause, wording tightened.
- Version 34 Aug 2026, 20:07
Added the third nearby aerodrome (Fairview Airport, 7.8 miles WNW) from geographic reference data; no other factual changes.
- Version 27 Aug 2026, 15:10current
Corrected the reversed compass bearings to Freeway and Fort Meade Executive airports, noted the geographic data locates the town rather than the crash site, and added that three people were aboard.
- Version 24 Aug 2026, 20:03
Attribution of the N249WF registration corrected to a general official accident record; the previously cited case number was removed.
- Version 14 Aug 2026, 23:20
First published.
- Version 14 Aug 2026, 16:45
First published.
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