Pilot killed, 3-year-old passenger injured in plane crash at Hinckley Airfield, sheriff says

HINCKLEY, Ill. (WLS) -- A pilot was killed and a toddler was injured in a plane crash Saturday just past the west suburbs, officials said.

The crash happened around 2:33 p.m. in a farm field just west of Hinckley Airfield, 12747 US-30, in Hinckley, Illinois, the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said.

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The pilot of the small plane, a 51-year-old man from Maple Park, was killed in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene, Hinckley fire officials said. The medical examiner has not released his identity.

A 3-year-old passenger, whose gender was not known, had non-life threatening injuries from the plane crash, fire officials said. The child was taken to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb and then Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.

The plane that crashed was a single-engine 1946 Aeronca 7 AC, the sheriff said.

The plane remained in the field right next to the Hinckley airport as FAA investigators processed the scene all evening Saturday.

It's not yet clear how the crash happened, and it's not known if the plane was trying to land or if it had just taken off, with how close the airport is.

The NTSB is now investigating the crash.

No further information was immediately available.