Pilot Debrief

TAILWIND W-8 near Poplar Grove, IL — 2026-02-14

Investigation ongoingERA26FA114
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Date
2026-02-14
Location
Poplar Grove, IL, USA
Airport
C77
Aircraft
TAILWIND W-8
Registration
N9424H
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1

Probable cause

NTSB has not published a probable cause for this accident yet. Preliminary reports describe what happened; the cause is determined later, often 12–24 months after the event.

NTSB narrative

On February 14, 2026, about 1600 central standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Tailwind W-8 airplane, N9424H, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Poplar Grove, Illinois. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to witnesses, the pilot attended a local fly-in event at Cottonwood airport (1C8), Rockford, Illinois, and was returning to Poplar Grove Airport (C77) at the time of the accident. The pilot departed 1C8 about 15 minutes before the accident. The pilot was not in communication with air traffic control during the approximately 13 nm flight. A witness who was working in his driveway when he heard the airplane stated that it sounded louder than normal. When he looked up, the airplane was in a nosedive and then impacted the ground in his yard. The airplane impacted the ground between two homes in a residential community about .7 nm south of C77. The airplane came to rest inverted on a magnetic heading of 189º at an elevation of 839 ft. The airplane sustained extensive damage to the fuselage and wooden wings consistent with a high-energy impact. All major components of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. The engine was embedded about 3 ft into the ground. The propellor hub and remnants of the wooden propellor were impact separated and buried beneath the engine. The engine oil pan was crushed, and the engine was separated from the firewall. Approximately 3 gallons of fuel was observed in the impact crater when the engine was removed. A portable iFly 740b gps was recovered from the accident site and forwarded to the NTSB vehicle recorders laboratory for data download. The airplane wreckage was recovered and retained for further examination.

Preliminary NTSB coding

  • Loss of control in flight · Enroute
View NTSB preliminary report

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