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NTSB Opens Investigation Into DC-3 Accident Near Anchorage

An accident record lists a Douglas DC3C registered N115U as substantially damaged near Anchorage, Alaska, on May 8, 2026; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 7, 2026, 10:29 a.m. ET
This is a developing event and details remain limited. According to the National Transportation Safety Board accident record, a registered was involved in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska, at about 4:55 p.m. local time on May 8, 2026. The record lists the operator as , classifies the flight as a Part 135 commuter or on-demand operation, and lists the aircraft as having sustained substantial damage. The cause has not been determined. The NTSB is the investigating body, and its record shows the investigation is open. The accident record does not list injury counts, which is usual for a preliminary filing. Aircraft registry records describe as a twin-engine piston landplane, a with serial number 33567 and P & W R-1830 SERIES engines, registered in the United States. The registry lists the registered owner as Basler Turbo Conversions LLC; the owner of record is not necessarily the operator of the flight, the pilot, or otherwise connected to it. According to the company's own materials and published business reporting, Basler Turbo Conversions is a privately held Wisconsin firm based at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh that remanufactures DC-3 and C-47 airframes into the turboprop BT-67, holds FAA Supplemental Type Certificate SA4840NM and Part 145 repair station certificate VWBR907K, and is not a flight school or charter operator. Its president is named in that reporting as Joseph Varkoly; the investigation has made no finding connecting him to this accident. Weather observations recorded at Merrill Field (PAMR), 1.7 miles away and two minutes from the reported time, show calm wind, visibility of 10 statute miles, broken cloud at 3,500 feet and a temperature of 45°F. That is a measurement only and is not stated to have any bearing on what happened. Geographic reference data places Anchorage at an elevation of 128 feet, 1.7 miles east of the settlement's reference point being Merrill Field, with Lake Hood Airport 3.1 miles away and Sleepers Strip Airport 3.4 miles away; the reference data locates the settlement, not the accident site. As a matter of record, the NTSB database, which begins in 2008, contains two other cases involving the type, one of which involved a fatality. That count says nothing about the cause of this accident.

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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
N115U
Type
Douglas DC3C — twin-engine piston landplane
Engines
P & W R-1830 SERIES
Registered owner
Basler Turbo Conversions LlcThe owner of record is not necessarily the operator, the pilot, or otherwise connected to the flight.
Terrain elevation
128 ft
Nearest aerodrome
1.7 miles W of Merrill Field (PAMR/MRI)

Sources

No sources recorded.

Revision history

  1. Version 27 Aug 2026, 14:29current

    Tightened the lead, clarified that the geographic reference data locates the settlement rather than the accident site, and noted that the Merrill Field weather reading is a measurement with no stated bearing on the accident.

  2. Version 15 Aug 2026, 16:04

    First published.

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