Three Fatally Injured In Maryland PA-28 Accident

The aircraft impacted wooded terrain near a Bowie neighborhood during an apparent training flight.

Matt Ryan

Monday, June 22, 2026 at 10:51 AM ET

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Edited By: Zach Vasile

A representative PA-28 on final. [Credit: davidphotography.ca | Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Three men died in the crash of a Piper PA-28-181 Archer II aircraft near Bowie, Maryland, on Saturday night.
The 1976 Piper aircraft, owned by Washington International Flight Academy LLC, was believed to be on a training flight from Ocean City, NJ, to Gaithersburg, MD.
Authorities located the destroyed wreckage in a wooded area Sunday morning after an iPhone crash alert, confirming no ground injuries.
The NTSB and FAA are currently investigating the accident.

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Three men sustained fatal injuries Saturday night in an aircraft accident involving a Piper PA-28-181 Archer II near Bowie, Maryland.

The aircraft was a 1976 Piper PA-28-181. According to Maryland State Police, the Piper departed Ocean City Municipal Airport in New Jersey and was en route to Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Police said the aircraft was believed to be associated with a Montgomery County flight school and may have been operating on a training flight. FAA records identified the owner as Washington International Flight Academy LLC.

Prince George’s County Public Safety Communications received an iPhone crash alert at about 11:53 p.m., police said. Local and state agencies began an air and ground search and located the wreckage at about 3:45 a.m. Sunday in a wooded area, and the accident site was found near a townhome community and a playground. No ground injuries were reported.

The aircraft was destroyed and the NTSB and FAA are investigating.

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