Preliminary information
On June 22, 2026, about 1915 central daylight time, an amateur-built Dragonfly, N3849A, was involved in an accident near Whitewater, Wisconsin. The pilot of the Dragonfly was not injured. The pilot of the hang glider in tow was fatally injured. The tow operation was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a glider tow flight.
The Dragonfly, a tow plane with a hang glider in tow, took off and had reached an altitude of about 30 ft above the ground when the pilot of the tow plane felt something through the tow cable. When he looked back, he saw the hang glider pilot hanging from the base bar. The hang glider pilot fell to the ground and was fatally injured. The pilot of the tow plane released the glider, returned to the airport, and landed without further incident. The hang glider came to rest on airport property near the fallen pilot.
An inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration examined the harness and carabiner used to attach the glider pilot and no obvious defects were found. The harness and carabiner were retained for further examination.
Text from the NTSB; a preliminary report can change and names no cause. Open the NTSB docket for CEN26LA231 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Jun 23, 2026
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Whitewater, Wisconsin
- Nearest airport
- Gutzmer'S Twin Oaks Airport (5Y3)
- Highest injury
- Fatal
- Fatal injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Amateur-built DRAGONFLY
- N-number
- N3849A
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1999
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Glider tow
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.