Men killed in December plane crash at DuPage Airport identified

Christopher McHarg lived a life of adventure.

He was an avid skier, went camping and enjoyed spelunking. Flying small planes was his “great passion,” his obituary notes.

McHarg, who was a president of the International Flying Club, a nonprofit based out of the DuPage Airport, was killed in a small plane crash last month. The DuPage County coroner’s office identified McHarg, 66, and John O’Grady, 56, as the victims of the Dec. 17, 2025, crash at the airport in West Chicago.

O’Grady was a husband and father who also enjoyed flying, skydiving, and watching the Chicago Bears, according to his obituary.

McHarg went to high school in Arlington Heights and earned degrees in electrical engineering. A deeply devout Christian, he attended Evangel Church in Hanover Park.

He was described as a ham radio enthusiast and a skilled skier determined to “continue as an expert on double black diamond runs and NASTAR races, especially in the Breckenridge, Colorado area.”

“On a regular basis, he was flying with friends and family and was never happier than being in the air in one of the IFC planes,” his obituary states.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report that air traffic control information revealed that the pilot was cleared for takeoff from the airport’s runway 20R. There were no other radio calls made by the pilot after he repeated the takeoff clearance. The Piper PA-30 crashed around 1:49 p.m.

Initial examination of the plane also found “no anomalies with the flight controls or engines that would have precluded normal operation.”

A final report may not be available for one to two years after the crash.