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| Date: | Saturday 7 June 2025 |
| Time: | 14:59 |
| Type: |  Aeronca 7AC Champion |
| Owner/operator: | Blue Northern Sky Flute LLC |
| Registration: | N1846E |
| MSN: | 7AC-5413 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1946 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Hinckley Airport (0C2), Waterman, IL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Hinckley Airport, IL (0C2) |
| Hinckley Airport, IL (0C2) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On June 7, 2025, about 1459 central daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC airplane, N1846E, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Waterman, Illinois. The pilot was fatally injured, and the passenger was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to witness reports, the pilot took his 3-year-old grandson for a ride to drop a homemade parachute made from a 16 ounce water bottle in a plastic grocery bag suspended below a homemade parachute made from black plastic. The parachute was dropped and the pilot reported over the radio that he was coming back around to see where the parachute landed. Witnesses observed the airplane maneuvering just west of the airport property; the right wing dipped, the nose dropped into a sudden dive, and an increase in engine power was heard. The wings leveled but the dive was not arrested before the airplane impacted terrain.
The airplane came to rest about 250 ft west of the Hinkley Airport (0C2), Hinkley, Illinois, property in a cultivated field. The top cowl over the engine was at a 37° nose down angle to the ground with the engine at the same attitude. The top portion of the fuselage from the firewall aft was deformed to the left. The left wing was in line with its normal position but with the fuselage deformity the left wing struts laid flat on the ground. The right wing remained attached to the fuselage, but the right wing struts exhibited impact damage, and the wing was angled downward with its wingtip nearly resting on the ground. All three landing gear separated from the airplane and the fuel tank was ejected about 10-15 feet forward of the airplane.
The airplane, engine, and propeller were examined at the accident site and no anomalies were found that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane.
Weather:
METAR KDKB 071915Z AUTO 14011KT 7SM SCT049 25/13 A2988 RMK AO2 T02520128
METAR KDKB 071935Z AUTO 14008G14KT 7SM SCT049 25/12 A2987 RMK AO2 T02480119
METAR KDKB 071955Z AUTO 12007KT 10SM CLR 24/12 A2987 RMK AO2 T02370116
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/fatal-plane-crash-hinckley-illinois-dekalb-county/
https://wgntv.com/dekalb/plane-crash-in-dekalb-county-claims-pilots-life-injures-child/
https://www.wifr.com/2025/06/08/pilot-killed-hinckley-plane-crash-3-year-old-passenger-stable-condition/
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=1846E
https://www.flickr.com/photos/egcb_egcc/10713024465/in/photolist-gof821-hjF3Wn/lightbox/(photo)
Location
Media:
NTSB investigating the June 7 crash of an Aeronca 7AC Champ airplane near Hinckley, Illinois.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) June 8, 2025
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Jun-2025 05:50 | gerard57 | Added |
| 08-Jun-2025 07:53 | gerard57 | Updated [Source, ] |
| 08-Jun-2025 08:00 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 08-Jun-2025 08:01 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, ] |
| 08-Jun-2025 09:02 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 08-Jun-2025 13:58 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 08-Jun-2025 14:50 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 08-Jun-2025 17:50 | RobertMB | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 08-Jun-2025 19:08 | dangryder | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 10-Jun-2025 14:48 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Jun-2025 21:16 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
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