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Accidents · NTSB SEA07LA050 · Final report

Piper PA-28R-180 accident near Fresno, California, December 21, 2006

On December 21, 2006 at about 1:00 am local time, a Piper PA-28R-180, registered N4666J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fresno, California (Fresno Chandler Executive airport). It was flown under rules the NTSB did not record. No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The design stress limits of the airframe were exceeded by an unknown pilot.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
December 21, 2006 · about 1:00 am local time · cases in 2006
Place
Fresno, California · Fresno Chandler Executive · cases near this airport · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
Weather
not recorded
Aircraft
Piper PA-28R-180 · all PA-28R-180s on the register
Registration
N4666J · registry record · serial 28R-30565
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Flight · rules the NTSB did not record

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

No damage to the airplane was detected prior to the flight instructor being checked out in the airplane, as well as before the cross-country instructional flight which followed the check out. After the completion of the cross-country flight wrinkled skin on top of both wings was discovered. The instructor stated that the damage was not a result of anything that had transpired during the cross-country flight. Interviews conducted by the FAA with numerous pilots who had recently flown the airplane failed to reveal who was responsible for the damage or how it was caused.

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

Crew member

  • Flight time: 1,100 hours in all; 25 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 1,000 as pilot in command; 750 on instruments

Crew member

  • Flight time: 212 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 140 as pilot in command
  • Seat: unk

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 4,422 hours
  • Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 1, 2006; 16 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
  • Seats: 4
  • Landing gear: retractable
  • Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total

The flight

  • Flight plan: not recorded

Weather at the time

  • Sky: not recorded; not recorded
  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew2

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.

Connections how this case links to the rest of the register

Aircraft
Place
Analytics

The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/SEA07LA050.json.

The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.

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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.