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).
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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 October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 2025 · about 7:57 pm local time
- Place
- Monee, Illinois · Bult Fld · 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N65818 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN25LA311.