Aeronca 7AC N1846E

Summary

On 7 June 2025 at about 19:59 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N1846E was involved in an accident near Waterman, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

7 June 2025 at 19:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Waterman, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Hinkley Airport (0C2)

Coordinates

41.7704, -88.7097

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N1846E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Waterman → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25FA198

1 person died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.