Piper PA-28-161 accident near Grayslake, Illinois, May 7, 2006
On May 7, 2006 at about 6:35 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-161, registered N2378U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grayslake, Illinois (Cambell Airport). It was an instructional 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 student pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the parked vehicle during taxi and the flight instructor's inadequate operational oversight. A factor to the accident was the parked vehicle.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 7, 2006 · about 6:35 pm local time
- Place
- Grayslake, Illinois · Cambell Airport · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-161 · all PA-28-161s on the register
- Registration
- N2378U · registry record · serial 28-8016022
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with a parked vehicle while taxiing to the departure runway. The flight instructor stated that the intercom cabling was "in shambles" and "required extra attention to avoid crimping them in the seat track." The student pilot was taxiing during the accident. The flight instructor reported that as he "looked up from making [his] adjustments" the airplane's left wing impacted a parked vehicle. The flight instructor stated that the impact caused the airplane to turn ninety degrees to the left before coming to a stop. The flight instructor noted that he wished he had delayed the departure "until such time as everything was properly straightened out."
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 472 hours in all; 120 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 367 as pilot in command; 65 on instruments
- Last flight review: September 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 115 hours in all; 115 in this make and model; 28 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 64 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,977 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 2,325 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-D3G (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: C81 Grayslake IL at 6:35 pm
- Destination: C81
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:55 pm from UGN, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.