Pilot who died in plane crash near Poplar Grove survived losing wing mid-flight in 1995

Editor’s Note: The video in the above player is from a report on the plane crash near Poplar Grove on Feb. 14.

The 83-year-old pilot who died when the plane he was flying crashed into a residential neighborhood just east of Rockford on Valentines Day previously survived landing a plane after its wing fell off mid-flight in 1995, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Rockford resident Richard McClung was identified Wednesday by Boone County Coroner Rebecca Wigget as the pilot of the plane that crashed into a residential neighborhood in Poplar Grove under “unknown circumstances” on Feb. 14, causing damage to a home and prompting a gas leak in the area.

An aviation investigation report published by NTSB in 1996 shows a plane flown by McClung lost its wing mid-flight and burst into flames after an emergency landing in Marengo.

McClung heard a “thump” from the right rear side of the airplane about 10 minutes after taking off from Belvidere during the 1996 flight, the NTSB report says. He decided to land after he noticed the fuel level was rapidly depleting.

He and a passenger exited the plane after landing and saw the upper right ring had “departed” the airplane, the report says. Then, a fire started and “consumed the entire airplane.”

The wing was found almost a mile from the resting point of the airplane.

The investigation revealed the cause to be compression failure and the presence of unbonded areas on the plane due to inadequate manufacturing.

Neither McClurg or the passenger was injured in the 1995 crash.

NTSB has not released details regarding the crash that killed McClung.

His death remains under investigation by the Boone County Coroner’s Office, Boone County Sheriff’s Department and NTSB, authorities said.