# Accident 19931115042869A: Piper PA30, Brea, CA, November 15, 1993

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: November 15, 1993, 11:53 local time
- Place: Brea, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.9252° N, 117.8651° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Brea, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.9252&lon=-117.8651&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8238Y, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8238Y-2013-07-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-30 (registry code 7103002, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-320 series (registry code 41509, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA30
- Reported engine: LYC IO320C1A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 4,000 total, 100 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX94FA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX94FA047) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19931115042869A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

OBSERVED POPPING SOUND AND DEBRIS FROM AIRCRAFT THEN DIVE VERTICALLY TO IMPACT. DEBRIS APPEARS FROM BALOON CLUSTER.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX94FA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX94FA047), Nov 15, 1993: Piper PA-30 (N8238Y), Brea, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: THE PILOT'S CHOICE OF AN INADEQUATE CRUISE ALTITUDE OVER ROLLING HILL TERRAIN WHICH RESULTED IN AN IN-FLIGHT COLLISION WITH HELIUM BALLOONS AND AN IN-FLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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