Departure
85%
vs 95% ▼ 10
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Nanwalek Airport (KEB) is a small state-owned airstrip serving the Alutiiq village of Nanwalek on the southern shore of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. It is best known among pilots for its short, exposed gravel runway hard against the coastline, and it remains a lifeline for scheduled air-taxi flights connecting the village to Homer and neighbouring Port Graham. The field has a notable accident history, making careful approach and go-around planning essential for any visiting pilot.
Nanwalek Airport, formerly known as English Bay Airport, is a state-owned, public-use airfield serving the small Alutiiq community of Nanwalek (once called English Bay) on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. It is a working village strip rather than a destination airport, with almost all traffic made up of scheduled air-taxi flights linking Nanwalek to nearby communities. The airport has a reputation among pilots for its very short runway and its proximity to the sea, and it has been recreated as a hand-crafted airport in Microsoft Flight Simulator, reflecting its character as a challenging bush-flying location.
Nanwalek Airport lies within the Kenai Peninsula Borough in southern Alaska, in the vicinity of uncontrolled airspace typical of this remote coastal region. The nearest airports with published instrument procedures are Homer Airport (PAHO), about 22 nautical miles to the northeast, Soldotna Airport (PASX), around 72 nautical miles to the north, and Kenai Municipal Airport (PAEN), about 76 nautical miles to the north. The airfield sits directly on the coastline of Nanwalek village, with the sea close to the runway thresholds.
Nanwalek Airport has a single physical runway, 01/19, 2,020 feet long with an unpaved (dirt/gravel-type) surface. There is no ILS or other instrument approach equipment at the field. Field elevation is 26 feet above mean sea level.
No air-to-ground or air traffic control communications frequencies are published for Nanwalek Airport, and there are no navaids or instrument approach procedures associated with the field. Pilots should expect to operate on a self-announce basis using standard traffic advisory practices for an uncontrolled Alaskan bush strip.
The runway lies immediately adjacent to the shoreline at Nanwalek village, with the sea close to both ends of the strip; several accidents at the field have involved aircraft ending up in the water just off the runway, underlining how tight the margins are between the landing surface and the coastline. Pilots should be alert to the proximity of open water at the northern end of the field, noted in accounts of a fatal accident there in 2025.
Nanwalek Airport was formerly known as English Bay Airport, taking its earlier name from the community's former name of English Bay before it reverted to the traditional name Nanwalek. It has long been a state-owned, public-use gravel strip supporting a small coastal Alutiiq village, and in the early 2000s recorded around 3,100 aircraft operations a year, the great majority classed as air taxi flights. The airfield has been the site of several serious accidents over the years: a Smokey Bay Air Cessna 206 crashed into the sea about 200 yards offshore after an aborted landing on 11 July 2003, killing the pilot; another Smokey Bay Air Cessna 206 crashed into the sea on takeoff on 15 December 2011, close to shore, with all four occupants escaping by swimming to safety; and on 28 April 2025 a Smokey Bay Air Cessna T207 Turbo Skywagon crashed following a go-around attempt, entering a steep left bank near the north end of the airport before losing control, killing the pilot and one passenger and seriously injuring a second passenger. The same aircraft had also been involved in a damaging incident at Nanwalek in August 2016. This history reflects the demanding nature of operations at a very short, coastal, unpaved airstrip.
Nanwalek Airport continues to function as the aerial lifeline for the village, with Smokey Bay Air providing scheduled air-taxi service to Port Graham and other nearby communities. The field remains a single short gravel-type runway with no instrument approach capability, and it has been reproduced as a hand-crafted scenery airport in Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020), making it a recognised destination for simulator pilots seeking a challenging short-field Alaskan bush strip.
