What happened
On March 4, 2026, at approximately 21:45 CST, a Cessna T210M, registration N19FB, crashed near Deerfield, Illinois. The flight, operated under Part 91 as a personal flight, was en route from an area southeast of Necedah Airport (DAF) in Wisconsin to Chicago Executive Airport (PWK).
While the flight began under visual flight rules, the pilot filed an in-flight instrument flight rules flight plan at approximately 20:49. During the RNAV 16 approach to PWK, air traffic control issued a low altitude alert when the aircraft was approximately 6 nautical miles northwest of the airport. The pilot acknowledged the alert and climbed roughly 100 feet, but the aircraft subsequently began to descend. After a second low altitude alert, the pilot stated, "I am climbing back," and was subsequently notified by ATC that the aircraft was drifting west of course. No further communications were received.
The aircraft struck 50-foot trees and the roof of a townhouse before coming to rest inverted in a residential backyard. The resident of the townhouse reported that the engine was loud and operating prior to the impact. The accident resulted in 1 fatal injury to the pilot.
The investigation
Investigators measured a debris field approximately 550 feet long on a magnetic heading of 050°. The wreckage included the left wingtip, portions of the left aileron, and fragmented sections of both the outboard left and right wings. The propeller assembly separated from the engine; all three blades showed rotational scoring and twisting, with two blades exhibiting gouges on the leading edges.
The main wreckage comprised the fuselage, empennage, and inboard wing sections. The fuel tanks and auxiliary tanks were compromised, and although the total fuel load could not be verified, the fuel strainer contained fuel and a strong smell of aviation fuel was noted at the scene. The fuel selector was set to the right tank. The instrument panel was crushed, and the altimeter was found with a barometric pressure setting of 30.04 inHg.