Plane CrashesVersion 7

Pilot Killed in Cirrus Crash West of Bend, Oregon; Cause Not Determined

KTVZ, KPTV and NBC16 each report one death in the August 4, 2026 crash near Bull Creek, with the NTSB and FAA investigating.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 6, 2026, 7:22 a.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 5, 2026, 1:45 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 7, 2026, 10:56 a.m. ET

A pilot was killed when a single-engine Cirrus crashed west of , Oregon, on August 4, 2026, according to reporting by KTVZ, KPTV and NBC16. KTVZ described the aircraft variously as a and a . KTVZ, KPTV and NBC16 each reported one fatality; NBC16 and KTVZ reported no injuries and no deaths on the ground. KPTV reported one person on board. Reports of the time differ: KTVZ gave both and , KPTV , and NBC16 described the crash as occurring . KTVZ reported that the crash occurred west of near Bull Creek, south of Upper Tumalo Reservoir, and that the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office did not provide an exact location. KTVZ reported that the pilot departed Municipal Airport at about 1:30 p.m. and flew just over five hours, circling a heavily forested area, and that law enforcement attempted to contact him during the flight, with the pilot indicating he only wished to speak with his family. The Sheriff's Office said the pilot died upon high-speed impact with the ground and that the crash did not cause a fire. The Sheriff's Office said no additional information would be released at this time, and public and media access to the site remains restricted because of safety hazards. KTVZ named the pilot as Steven Nicholas Charlton and reported that he was facing five felony counts of first-degree invasion of personal privacy in Deschutes County, with a Deschutes County grand jury returning a five-count indictment on August 4 and an arraignment scheduled for August 6. KTVZ reported that Deschutes County Circuit Court records show the case against Charlton was dismissed as of August 6, and that the criminal filings contain no information about the plane or the crash and establish no connection to it. The cause has not been determined. KTVZ reported that the NTSB's preliminary information is that the plane impacted terrain under unknown circumstances, that an investigator was en route to the scene, and that the NTSB does not determine or speculate about cause during the on-scene phase. Accounts of the investigation's status otherwise differ: KTVZ reported that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were scheduled to be at the site to begin their investigation and that the NTSB is seeking information from witnesses at witness@ntsb.gov; KPTV reported the cause is being investigated by the NTSB and the FAA; NBC16 reported the crash is being investigated in coordination with the NTSB and FAA. The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are also among the bodies involved. KTVZ reported the NTSB investigation number as WPR26FA289, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days. The response was coordinated by the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team, the FBI, the FAA, Fire & Rescue, the Central Oregon Irrigation District and the Sheriff's Office, and KTVZ reported that the FBI maintained contact with the Air Force base in Klamath Falls. The aircraft has not been identified by registration: KTVZ said it is withholding the tail number pending official confirmation. The aircraft is registered to So Fly Aviation, LLC, of Eugene; the registered owner of record is not necessarily the operator of the flight, the pilot, or otherwise connected to it. FAA records show the aircraft was certified on March 3, 2025. Geographic reference data places in Deschutes County, Oregon, at a settlement elevation of 3,632 feet, with Municipal Airport (KBDN) listed 6.2 miles from the city reference point; that reference locates the settlement, not the accident site.

Earlier reports

Aug 6, 2026, 7:22 a.m. ETFirst report
Pilot Killed in Bend, Oregon, Plane Crash Was Indicted Hours Earlier, KTVZ Reports
A pilot was killed in a plane crash near Bend, Oregon, on August 4, 2026, according to reporting by KTVZ. The event is still developing and details remain limited.
KTVZ reported that the pilot, Steven Nicholas Charlton, was facing five felony counts of first-degree invasion of personal privacy in Deschutes County Court, and that a Deschutes County grand jury returned a five-count indictment against him on August 4, with an arraignment scheduled for August 6. KTVZ reported that the criminal filings contain no information about the plane or the crash and establish no connection to it.
The cause of the crash has not been determined. No registration or other identifying details for the aircraft are in the available material, and the aircraft has not been identified. The available material gives no information on the number of people aboard beyond the pilot.
Geographic reference data places Bend in Deschutes County, Oregon, at a settlement elevation of 3,632 feet, and lists the city as 2.1 miles west-northwest of Pilot Butte Airport (8OR5), 4.4 miles north-northwest of D M Stevenson Ranch Airport (OR30) and 6.2 miles west-southwest of Bend Municipal Airport (KBDN). That reference locates the city, not the accident site. The state of the official investigation has not been reported in the available material.

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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.

Terrain elevation: 3,632 ft
Nearest aerodrome: 2.1 miles WNW of Pilot Butte Airport (8OR5)

Sources

Revision history

Version 77 Aug 2026, 14:56current
No new facts; headline and dek revised and attribution wording tightened.
Version 67 Aug 2026, 12:49
Condensed the court-record paragraph; no new facts added.
Version 56 Aug 2026, 23:36
Added KTVZ report that Deschutes County Circuit Court records show the criminal case against the pilot was dismissed as of August 6, and updated the headline accordingly.
Version 26 Aug 2026, 11:22current
Corrected the bearings for the nearby aerodromes to match the reference data and clarified that the aircraft identity and occupant count are absent from the available material.
Version 16 Aug 2026, 05:06
First published.

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