Schweizer SGS 2-33A accident near Monee, Illinois, August 6, 2025
On August 6, 2025 at about 7:57 pm local time, a 1973 Schweizer SGS 2-33A (glider), registered N65818, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach (VFR pattern base) near Monee, Illinois (Bult Fld airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed and altitude resulting in a collision with the ground during the base to final turn.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 2025 · about 7:57 pm local time · cases in 2025
- Place
- Monee, Illinois · Bult Fld · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer SGS 2-33A, built 1973 · all SGS 2-33As on the register
- Registration
- N65818 · registry record · serial 303
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The solo student pilot reported she was on downwind to land and noted she was a bit lower than usual so she turned base early to compensate. While on the base leg her recollection of events wasn’t clear. She remembered feeling task saturated and that she may not have maintained her altitude and airspeed resulting in the glider impacting the ground during the base to final turn. The glider came to rest upright on a flat grass field and the pilot was able to egress without further incident. The fuselage and right wing were substantially damaged. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions of failures with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that the accident could have been prevented by paying closer attention to the glider’s altitude and airspeed while in the traffic pattern.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during approach (VFR pattern base) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 8 hours in all
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,841.9 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 5, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 1,040 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.22 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 pm from KIGQ, 12 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KIGQ 061955Z AUTO 22005KT 10SM CLR 30/17 A3022 RMK AO2 T02970173
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 5 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Photograph 1 – Accident glider
Photograph 2 – Nose damage
Photograph 3 – Nose damage
Photograph 4 – Left wing damage
Photograph 5 – Left wing damageThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on October 17, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 6 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N65818 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N65818 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Schweizer SGS 2 gliders (2-33 and 2-32) 275 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Schweizer 1,186 aircraft on the register
- Bult Field · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Illinois 2,118 since 1982 · 251 in the last ten years
- Illinois 8,070 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N65818 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN25LA311.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.