HAYWARD — A flight instructor killed Monday afternoon in a helicopter crash at the city’s airport was identified by the coroner’s office Tuesday as Wayne Prodger, 62, of Sunnyvale.
Prodger was pronounced dead at the scene. A student who was also injured in the crash remained hospitalized. No other information about the student has been released.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and has not said who was piloting the helicopter when it crashed.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said Tuesday that the R44 helicopter does not have a black box, normally a key element in any NTSB investigation involving an air craft. The helicopter went down about 2:30 p.m. on the left side of Runway 28L at the airport, Gregor said in a statement Monday.
The NTSB has not determined what caused the aircraft to go down.
FAA documents say the helicopter is owned by Pacific Helicopter LLC. Calls to numbers associated with that company went unanswered Tuesday morning.
In social network accounts, Prodger listed himself as owner and chief pilot at Vertical CFI Helicopters based at the Hayward airport. A phone call to that number went to Prodger’s voicemail.
Hayward Executive Airport general manager Doug McNeeley said Prodger and another male were using the four-seater for an instructional flight
The crash left the helicopter substantially damaged, McNeeley said. The student walked away from the crash but remained at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley on Tuesday morning.
Monday’s crash was the first fatality that McNeeley said he could recall during his tenure as airport manager: “Even the last crash of significance was a twin-engine plane back in 2009, and that pilot was able to walk away.”
Hayward Fire Capt. Don Nichelson said the helicopter landed upside-down with two occupants inside, but that fire resources had not been directly involved in a response.
#BREAKING UPDATE: Helicopter crashes at Hayward airport. Emergency crews on scene. https://t.co/CCdFdYPcxE pic.twitter.com/BMgVqvl5an
— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) July 15, 2019
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Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
