Amateur-built DH82 accident near Harvard, Illinois, September 27, 2025
On September 27, 2025 at about 11:00 pm local time, a 1944 amateur-built DH82, registered UNREG, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Harvard, Illinois (Dacy airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during takeoff which resulted in a collision with cornstalks. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s partially obscured vision due to sun glare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 27, 2025 · about 11:00 pm local time · cases in 2025
- Place
- Harvard, Illinois · Dacy · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DH82 A, built 1944
- Registration
- UNREG · registered outside the United States · serial NM.206
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was attempting to depart in the biplane to the west from a turf runway with uncultivated cornstalks off the left side of the runway. The pilot was seated in the rear tandem seat, and his forward vision was partially obscured by the tailwheel airplane’s high nose attitude and the setting sun to the west. On takeoff roll, the pilot did not maintain centerline and the airplane’s left wing contacted the corn on the left side of the runway. The pilot lost directional control, the airplane ground looped and came to rest in the corn field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the upper and lower right wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Collision during takeoff/land during takeoff defining event
- Runway excursion during takeoff
- Loss of control on ground during takeoff
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Light condition › Glare › Effect on personnel
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all; 150 in this make and model
- Last flight review: April 23, 2024
- Medical certificate: BasicMed
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,111 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 25, 2025; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,825 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: De Havilland Gipsy Major (piston); 1,703 hours total
The flight
- Destination: 68IS Hampshire IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 3,589 ft by 105 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.91 inHg
- Observation at 5:45 pm from KJVL, 22 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KJVL 272245Z 26008KT 10SM CLR 28/11 A2991=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on November 4, 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 | Pictures | PDF, 3 pages | 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 UNREG 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
- Engine: De Havilland Gipsy Major · as the NTSB recorded it
- Dacy Airport · nearest airport
- Casa DE Aero Park Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Illinois 2,117 since 1982 · 250 in the last ten years
- Illinois 8,055 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under UNREG 10 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/CEN25LA397.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.