# NTSB CEN25FA198: Aeronca 7AC, N1846E, Waterman, IL, June 7, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report
- Date: June 7, 2025, 14:59 local (19:59 UTC)
- Place: Waterman, IL
- Coordinates: 41.770448, -88.709655
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.7704&lon=-88.7097&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Central Region
- Parties: FAA
- NTSB case key (mKey): 200281
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN25FA198
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200281/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25FA198

## Preliminary report

On June 7, 2025, about 1459 central daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC airplane, N1846E, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Waterman, Illinois. The pilot was fatally injured, and the passenger was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to witness reports, the pilot took his 3-year-old grandson for a ride to drop a homemade parachute made from a 16 ounce water bottle in a plastic grocery bag suspended below a homemade parachute made from black plastic. The parachute was dropped and the pilot reported over the radio that he was coming back around to see where the parachute landed. Witnesses observed the airplane maneuvering just west of the airport property; the right wing dipped, the nose dropped into a sudden dive, and an increase in engine power was heard. The wings leveled but the dive was not arrested before the airplane impacted terrain. The airplane came to rest about 250 ft west of the Hinkley Airport (0C2), Hinkley, Illinois, property in a cultivated field. The top cowl over the engine was at a 37° nose down angle to the ground with the engine at the same attitude. The top portion of the fuselage from the firewall aft was deformed to the left. The left wing was in line with its normal position but with the fuselage deformity the left wing struts laid flat on the ground. The right wing remained attached to the fuselage, but the right wing struts exhibited impact damage, and the wing was angled downward with its wingtip nearly resting on the ground. All three landing gear separated from the airplane and the fuel tank was ejected about 10-15 feet forward of the airplane. The airplane, engine, and propeller were examined at the accident site and no anomalies were found that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Aeronca 7AC, 17 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=2110102), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N1846E](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1846E), registered now, S/N 7AC-5413, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AERONCA 7AC
- Registry model: [Aeronca 7AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7ac) (registry code 2110102) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 7AC-5413
- Year built: 1946
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Departed: 0C2, Waterman, IL
- Airport: 0C2, Hinkley Airport

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 70° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 11,000 ft overcast
- Temperature: 70 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter: 29.82 inHg
- Observed at: KDKB, 10 nm away
- METAR: KDKB 080055Z AUTO 07007KT 10SM OVC110 21/12 A2982 RMK AO2 T02090121

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20250607007869A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250607007869A), Jun 7, 2025: Aeronca 7AC, Hinckley, IL, Destroyed, 1 fatal. FAA personnel arrived at the accident scene where the aircraft was at rest in a field facing a northerly direction. The pilot had been removed by the coroner…

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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