| Crash location | 39.534166°N, 89.327778°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Pana, IL
39.405042°N, 89.080359°W 15.9 miles away |
| Tail number | N53TW |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 18 Oct 2003 |
| Aircraft type | Oostdik M-18-X |
| Additional details: | None |
On October 18, 2003, about 1230 central daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Oostdik M-18-X, N53TW, collided with trees while taking off to the south on a private airstrip (1,600 foot long, grass) in Pana, Illinois. The private pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight was originating at the time of the accident with an intended destination of Taylorville, Illinois.
The pilot stated he began his takeoff roll and lifted off about 50 miles per hour. The pilot stated that during initial climb he noticed his brother standing by a nearby hangar. The pilot "waved" to his brother, and only remembers hearing tree limbs hitting the airplane before the airplane impacted the terrain.
The pilot's attention was diverted to a person on the ground which resulted in his failure to maintain altitude/clearance with trees . A contributing factor to the accident were trees.