Zenith STOL CH750 N749WJ

Summary

On 15 January 2025 at about 16:30 local time, a Zenith STOL CH750 registered N749WJ was involved in an accident near Byron, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 January 2025 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Byron, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

42.1986, -89.2904

Aircraft

Zenith STOL CH750

Registration

N749WJ

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dixon → Rockford

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA078

Nobody was injured.

The pilot inadvertently moved the ignition key to the off position and broke the key, which resulted in a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that while in cruise flight, he noticed that his heavy keychain was pulling the key out of the ignition switch. He reached down to push the key back in, but inadvertently moved the key to the off position due to the thick glove on his hand, which resulted in a loss of engine power. When he attempted to reinsert the key and restart the engine, the key broke inside the ignition switch. He was unable to use the broken key to restart the engine. During the forced landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no other mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.