What happened
On February 14, 2026, at approximately 16:00 CST, an experimental, amateur-built Tailwind W-8, registration N9424H, crashed near Poplar Grove, Illinois. The flight was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 for personal use.
The pilot had departed Cottonwood Airport (1C8) in Rockford, Illinois, roughly 15 minutes prior to the accident. The aircraft was en route to Poplar Grove Airport (C77) for a flight of approximately 13 nautical miles. The pilot was not communicating with air traffic control during this period. Weather conditions were reported as VMC with 10 statute mile visibility.
A witness observing the flight from a driveway noted that the engine sounded louder than usual. Upon looking up, the witness observed the aircraft in a nosedive before it struck the ground in a residential yard. The aircraft impacted the ground between two homes, approximately 0.7 nautical miles south of C77, and came to rest inverted at an elevation of 839 feet.
The accident resulted in 1 fatality.
The investigation
The aircraft sustained extensive damage to the fuselage and wooden wings, which was consistent with a high-energy impact. The engine was found embedded approximately 3 feet into the ground, separated from the firewall, with a crushed oil pan. The propeller hub and remnants of the wooden propeller were separated by the impact and buried beneath the engine. Approximately 3 gallons of fuel were found in the impact crater. Investigators recovered a portable iFly 740b GPS from the site for data analysis, and the wreckage was retained for further examination.