Piper PA-22-108 accident near Hayward, California, January 2, 1999
On January 2, 1999 at about 7:18 pm local time, a Piper PA-22-108, registered N4556Z, was destroyed in an accident near Hayward, California (Hayward Air Terminal 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-in-command's failure to maintain directional control. A factor in this accident was the inadvertent ground loop swerve.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 2, 1999 · about 7:18 pm local time
- Place
- Hayward, California · Hayward Air Terminal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-22-108 · all PA-22-108s on the register
- Registration
- N4556Z · no longer on the register · serial 22-8061
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot was completing the last of his touch-and-go landings at a local airport. During the flare he said the airplane began to drift to the right and said he noticed the left wing getting ready to contact the ground, as if in a ground loop condition. The pilot applied full throttle in an attempt to fly away. He stated the airplane did not want to fly so he elected to close the throttle and attempted to straighten out the airplane for landing. The aircraft contacted the ground and subsequently nosed over. The gascolator was compromised during the crash, which allowed unregulated fuel to enter the engine cowling. The postcrash fire ensued which destroyed the airplane. The pilot reported that the weather conditions at the time of the crash as reported on ATIS were winds 070 at 4 knots.
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: student
- Flight time: 42 hours in all; 37 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,900 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 1998; 75 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,655 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: HWD at 6:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28L, 5,024 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots, gusting 8
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:27 pm from KHW, 1 miles away
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.