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).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 27, 2025 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Harvard, Illinois · Dacy · 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 · no longer on the register · 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Other NTSB records under UNREG 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 CEN25LA397.