A routine business flight into Chicago Executive Airport turned into an unnerving arrival Tuesday evening when a business jet slipped off the paved surface, leaving its right wing resting on the ground beside a taxiway and briefly shutting down the Wheeling airport. Two people were safely evacuated, and there were no immediate reports of injuries.
The jet had landed at about 5:27 p.m. when its landing gear became stuck while it was turning from the runway onto an adjacent taxiway, according to NBC Chicago. Audio from the airport captured the pilot telling air traffic controllers about a mechanical warning in the cockpit before returning to Chicago Executive.
Chicago Executive is a medium-sized airport focused largely on business and general aviation, sitting about seven miles north of O’Hare, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport handles corporate flights, private aircraft and recreational aviation rather than the scheduled airline traffic found at O’Hare and Midway.
One runway has reopened, but the airport was waiting for FAA and National Transportation Safety Board clearance before removing the aircraft and resuming full operations, NBC Chicago reported. The temporary closure was tied to the investigation and the need to preserve the scene around the disabled jet.
Chicago Executive Faced Another Runway Emergency Recently
The incident comes less than a year after a separate business-jet accident at the same airport. A Gulfstream G150 went off the end of a runway in September 2025; the NTSB's preliminary report said the aircraft was substantially damaged, while the two people aboard were not injured.
Tuesday’s event appears different from that earlier overrun because the jet left the pavement while turning onto a taxiway after landing. Investigators are expected to focus on the reported mechanical warning, the landing gear problem and the circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s movement from the runway.
