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CEN25LA397

2025-09-27 · Harvard, Illinois, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 0C0

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during takeoff which resulted in a collision with cornstalks. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s partially obscured vision due to sun glare.

Factual narrative

The pilot was attempting to depart in the biplane to the west from a turf runway with uncultivated cornstalks off the left side of the runway. The pilot was seated in the rear tandem seat, and his forward vision was partially obscured by the tailwheel airplane’s high nose attitude and the setting sun to the west. On takeoff roll, the pilot did not maintain centerline and the airplane’s left wing contacted the corn on the left side of the runway. The pilot lost directional control, the airplane ground looped and came to rest in the corn field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the upper and lower right wings. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Light condition-Glare-Effect on personnel
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_CEN25LA397.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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