91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Local News

Pilot killed in Deerfield, Illinois plane crash

By
Asal Rezaei
Asal Rezaei
Reporter
Asal Rezaei joined CBS2 Chicago as a general assignment reporter in August 2021.
Read Full Bio
Asal Rezaei,
Marissa Perlman
Marissa Perlman
Reporter
Marissa Perlman is an award-winning reporter for CBS News Chicago. She joined the team in February 2021.
Read Full Bio
Marissa Perlman,
Elyssa Kaufman
Elyssa Kaufman
Digital Producer, CBS Chicago
Elyssa Kaufman is an Emmy-winning digital news producer at CBS News Chicago. She covers breaking news CBSChicago.com.
Read Full Bio
Elyssa Kaufman

/ CBS Chicago

A pilot was killed after a plane crash in north suburban Deerfield, Illinois, on Wednesday night. 

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said a Cessna 210M airplane crashed behind a row of townhomes in the 800 block of Swallow Street around 9:45 p.m. The plane struck the roof of one of the townhomes and two gas meters.

A small gas leak was contained after Nicor Gas officials responded to the scene. Some neighbors reported damage to their back porches.

Officials said the pilot was the only occupant at the time of the crash. He was identified as Chester Wojnicki, 75, of Mount Prospect.

An autopsy determined Wojnicki died of blunt force injuries from the crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the plane took off from Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, and was heading to Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, Illinois. Officials said there were no distress signals sent in from the pilot. 

Airport officials in Wheeling confirmed the aircraft lost contact with their tower before the crash was reported. 

Lake County officials said "the pilot was able to avoid causing major damage to any of the homes," and no other injuries were reported. 

A neighbor told CBS News Chicago he tried to check on the pilot after the crash, but the "cockpit was destroyed." He said he found the pilot's jacket and phone. 

"I just hope they know they saved all of us," the neighbor said. 

Other neighbors said it was a miracle no one else was hurt.

"There are hundreds of units here, meaning thousands of people. So, it's very, very fortunate that the lord was watching over us last night," said one neighbor named Kathy.

Neighbors said planes have been flying over this area for decades.

"For 50 years, planes have been flying over this area, and it's quite amazing that something hasn't happened before," Kathy said.

After Wednesday night, the sound of planes overhead might feel a little different.

"You don't expect it, but now it's going to be in my mind every time I hear a plane," neighbor Michelle Cooper said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the cause of the crash. 

In:

© 2026 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=fd53910ecf4604072044ab7c46d9b028'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });