Smith Kelly-D accident near Poplar Grove, Illinois, July 21, 2001
On July 21, 2001 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Smith Kelly-D, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N303SM, was destroyed in an accident near Poplar Grove, Illinois (Poplar Grove airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The right upper wing failed due to overload. A factor was the pilot performing aerobatic manuevers.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 21, 2001 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Poplar Grove, Illinois · Poplar Grove · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Smith Kelly-D, amateur-built
- Registration
- N303SM · no longer on the register · serial 38
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The amateur-built experimental biplane was destroyed when it experienced an in-flight separation of the right upper wing and spiraled into the terrain. A witness reported that he saw, "the Kelly-D airplane coming out of a maneuver of some kind. He continued west at approx. 800-1000'. He pulled up, rolled to the left (inverted) and pulled out (1/2 loop). He repeated the same maneuver going east, and as he leveled out I saw what looked like a large piece of fabric and another object leave the airplane. The fabric fell slowly the other object a little faster. The airplane continued for a couple seconds and then rolled over and spiraled into the ground." The witness reported the maneuver was smooth and that it could not have pulled more that 3.5g's during the maneuver. He reported the failure occurred as the airplane was leveling off. He reported the engine was operating during the entire flight and there was no indication of an engine problem. One of the wooden propeller blades was found bent opposite the direction of rotation, broken at the hub, and was splintered. A propeller slash was found in the dirt at the point of propeller impact. The clevis ends of the flying and landing wires were examined. Six of the jam nuts were found loose. The examination of the left front upper spar revealed that the adhesive used on the plywood doubler did not cover the entire area being bonded to the spar. The USDA Forest Products Laboratory report stated, "There was also very little penetration of the adhesive into the spar." The report stated that the right upper front and rear spars exhibited compression and tension failure surfaces.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,100 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 60 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming L-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: C77 Poplar Grove IL at 5:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,100 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.90 inHg
- Observation at 5:54 pm from RFD, 18 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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 never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.