Piper PA-28R-201T accident near Taylor, Texas, May 20, 1999
On May 20, 1999 at about 2:00 am local time, a Piper PA-28R-201T, registered N6558C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Taylor, Texas (Taylor Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain a proper glide path, which resulted in a collision with a wire. A factor was the dark night condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 20, 1999 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Taylor, Texas · Taylor Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28R-201T PA-28R-201 · all PA-28R-201Ts on the register
- Registration
- N6558C · registry record · serial 28R-7803238
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported on his tenth night landing to the runway, the approach was a little high, so he elected to do another landing. However, on the next approach, he 'overcompensated and fell below the glide slope,' and the airplane impacted a wire. The wire wrapped around the propeller, the engine lost power, and the airplane touched down in a corn field, approximately 200-300 feet short of the runway. After touchdown, the wire 'yanked' the airplane around to the left, and it came to rest upright 90 degrees from the approach heading.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 224 hours in all; 37 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 161 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,888 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 7, 1998; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 3,498 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 170° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.