Kane County Sheriff’s Office concludes investigation on glider plane accident

HAMPSHIRE – At approximately 1 p.m. on May 16, Kane County patrol deputies were dispatched to Sky Soaring Glider Club located at 12020 Grant Highway in Hampshire. Deputies were responding to a glider plane that had crashed in an area in unincorporated Kane County just east of the club, according to Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain.

Mike Pierce, a battalion chief for the Huntley Fire Protection District, stated that the Hampshire Police Department and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office were also dispatched to the accident, though the Kane County Sheriff’s Office was leading the investigation.

Hain stated that upon arrival to the scene, deputies discovered there were two occupants in the glider. One was a 61-year-old male pilot from Hoffman Estates and the other occupant was a 60-year-old male student pilot from Chicago. Both occupants received non-life-threatening injuries from the crash.

According to Hain, the pilot sustained a broken leg and minor head injuries while the student pilot received minor head injuries. Both men were transported to Sherman Hospital in Elgin, for medical assistance.

“Deputies learned that the glider was taking off when the sling shot mechanism did not properly catapult the glider high enough to clear some area trees,” Hain told My Huntley News. “The glider struck the tree tops and crashed.”

Kane County deputies contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where they requested that deputies photograph the scene. The FAA allowed the glider to be released back to Sky Soaring Glider Club.

“The glider sustained major damage,” Hain stated.