Wsk Pzl Warzawa-Okecie PZL-104 WILGA 80 accident near Reno, Nevada, May 6, 1999
On May 6, 1999 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Wsk Pzl Warzawa-Okecie PZL-104 WILGA 80, registered N4UU, was substantially damaged in an accident near Reno, Nevada (Reno-Stead airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight instructor's improper supervision of the pilot trainee and his failure to make timely control inputs in order to maintain aircraft control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 6, 1999 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Reno, Nevada · Reno-Stead · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Wsk Pzl Warzawa-Okecie PZL-104 WILGA 80 PZL-104 WI
- Registration
- N4UU · registry record · serial CF21910927
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor reported that they were landing on runway 26 and the aircraft touched down on the runway centerline with a slight crab to the left. The flight instructor stated that the pilot trainee 'overcorrected with right rudder input causing a swerve to the right.' The pilot trainee applied left rudder but the aircraft continued to veer to the right. The flight instructor reported that he took the flight controls in an effort to correct the drift, but realized that the 'swerve had become uncontrollable.' He stated that he felt it was too late to recover by applying engine power, so he began to apply control inputs for a ground loop. As the aircraft began to ground loop, the left wing contacted the runway surface. The flight instructor reported that the tail of the aircraft began to rise, and the combination of a slight tail wind, a left wing heavy fuel load, and possible excessive braking resulted in the aircraft pitching over and coming to rest inverted on the runway. The flight instructor reported that the automated weather observation service (AWOS) at the airport indicated that the winds were from the east at 4 knots at the time of the accident.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,093 hours in all; 33 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 5,835 as pilot in command; 1,254 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 459 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 12, 1998; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,866 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pzl-Kalisz AI-14KA (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4SD at 3:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26, 7,600 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 pm from RNO, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.