Schweizer 2-32 accident near Plainfield, Illinois, July 16, 1991
On July 16, 1991 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Schweizer 2-32 (glider), registered N2477W, was substantially damaged in an accident near Plainfield, Illinois (Day airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT'S FAILURE TO ATTAIN PROPER ALIGNMENT WITH THE RUNWAY. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE HIGH VEGETATION/CROP IN WHICH THE LANDING WAS MADE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 16, 1991 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Plainfield, Illinois · Day · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Schweizer 2-32
- Registration
- N2477W · no longer on the register · serial 51
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT SAID THAT WHILE MANEUVERING FOR RUNWAY ALIGNMENT WHILE LANDING, THE RIGHT WING TIP CONTACTED TALL CORN ADJACENT THE LANDING STRIP. THE GLIDER CARTWHEELED, RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL AIRFRAME DAMAGE, AND NO INJURIES TO THE PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: glider; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 886 hours in all; 153 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 700 as pilot in command; 83 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,986 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 1, 1991; 52 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,430 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (type not recorded); 0 hours total
- Operator: Windy City Soaring, LTD
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 2,300 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N2477W the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.