# NTSB ERA26FA114: Tailwind W-8, N9424H, Poplar Grove, IL, February 14, 2026

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report
- Date: February 14, 2026, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place: Poplar Grove, IL
- Coordinates: 42.309869, -88.838829 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.3099&lon=-88.8388&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Enroute: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 202435
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA26FA114
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/202435/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26FA114

## Preliminary report

On February 14, 2026, about 1600 central standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Tailwind W-8 airplane, N9424H, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Poplar Grove, Illinois. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to witnesses, the pilot attended a local fly-in event at Cottonwood airport (1C8), Rockford, Illinois, and was returning to Poplar Grove Airport (C77) at the time of the accident. The pilot departed 1C8 about 15 minutes before the accident. The pilot was not in communication with air traffic control during the approximately 13 nm flight. A witness who was working in his driveway when he heard the airplane stated that it sounded louder than normal. When he looked up, the airplane was in a nosedive and then impacted the ground in his yard. The airplane impacted the ground between two homes in a residential community about .7 nm south of C77. The airplane came to rest inverted on a magnetic heading of 189º at an elevation of 839 ft. The airplane sustained extensive damage to the fuselage and wooden wings consistent with a high-energy impact. All major components of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. The engine was embedded about 3 ft into the ground. The propellor hub and remnants of the wooden propellor were impact separated and buried beneath the engine. The engine oil pan was crushed, and the engine was separated from the firewall. Approximately 3 gallons of fuel was observed in the impact crater when the engine was removed. A portable iFly 740b gps was recovered from the accident site and forwarded to the NTSB vehicle recorders laboratory for data download. The airplane wreckage was recovered and retained for further examination.

## Sequence of events

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

- [Enroute: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240) (defining event); cases with it: [Tailwind W-8, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=97902G1), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md)
- [Enroute: Unknown or undetermined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000); cases with it: [Tailwind W-8, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md?model=97902G1), [All aircraft, 1,703 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/000/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N9424H](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9424H), registered now, S/N 86, built 1962 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: TAILWIND W-8
- Registry model: [Tailwind W-8](https://openairdocs.org/model/tailwind-w-8) (registry code 97902HB) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Continental C90 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c90-series) (registry code 17009, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number: 86
- Year built: 1962
- Damage: Destroyed
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed: 1C8, Rockford, IL
- Destination: C77, Poplar Grove, IL
- Airport: C77, Poplar Grove
- Equipment: Handheld GPS

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature: 52 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Icing: Unknown
- Turbulence: Unknown
- Observed at: RFD, 13 nm away
- METAR: METAR KRFD 142154Z 00000KT 10SM BKN250 11/M02 A2996 RMK AO2 SLP151 T01061022

## 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 20260214003849A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260214003849A), Feb 14, 2026: Tailwind W-8, Poplar Grove, IL, Destroyed, 1 fatal. On February 14, 2026, about 1600 central standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Tailwind W-8 airplane was destroyed when it was involved in an accident…

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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