Authorities in Oregon say a pilot deliberately crashed a Cirrus SR22T in a remote wooded area after spending more than five hours circling west of the city of Bend.
Steven Nicholas Charlton, 48, took off from Bend Municipal Airport at about 13:30 local time on August 4, 2026, according to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
Charlton had been indicted earlier that day on five felony counts of first-degree invasion of personal privacy, according to Deschutes County court records.
The aircraft remained airborne for just over five hours before crashing at 18:46. Charlton was the only person aboard and died in the crash. No one else was injured, and authorities reported no damage to property on the ground.
“Detectives with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office have determined that the pilot of a Cirrus SR22T aircraft intentionally brought the plane down,” the agency said.
Law enforcement tried to contact Charlton while the aircraft circled over the heavily forested area, but the sheriff’s office said he wanted to speak only with members of his family.
The unusual flight prompted a large response involving the sheriff’s office, federal law enforcement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Bend Fire & Rescue, the Central Oregon Emergency Response Team and the Central Oregon Irrigation District.
The FBI also contacted the Air Force base at Klamath Falls as a precaution, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities did not say what response, if any, the military prepared.
The charges involved allegations that he recorded two people while they were nude and had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
The aircraft was a 2025 Cirrus SR22T, registration N625LK. FAA records show it was registered to So Fly Aviation LLC of Eugene, Oregon, with its airworthiness certificate issued in March 2025.
The sheriff’s office said the Cirrus struck the ground at high speed and did not catch fire, as it presumably had run out of fuel.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the aviation aspects of the crash. NTSB investigators have asked anyone who witnessed the flight or crash, or who spoke with Charlton at Bend Municipal Airport, to contact the agency.
The sheriff’s has not released details of Charlton’s communications with his family or law enforcement during the flight.