# Incident 19990323018469I: Cessna 421C, Palm Springs, CA, March 23, 1999

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 23, 1999, 07:00 local time
- Place: Palm Springs, CA
- Airport: Palm Springs Regional Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.8297° N, 116.5067° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at PALM SPRINGS INTL (PSP), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.8297&lon=-116.5067&mi=10
- Aircraft: N369NM (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 421C
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,100 total, 300 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990323018469I

## Narrative

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

(-5) MR VINCENT MERTEN DEPARTED BRAWLEY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, BRAWLEY, CA ENROUTE TO LANCASTER, CA. MR. MERTEN WAS APPROACHING PALM SPRINGS, CA. IN CRUISE AT 12,500 FEET WHEN HE HEARD A LOUD CRACKING SOUND, AND IN SECONDS THE RIGHT WINDSHIELD BLEW OUT. MR. MERTEN CONTACTED PALM SPRINGS TOWER AND DECLARED AN EMERGENCY. AFTER RECEIVING A CLEARANCE MR. MERTEN LANDED THE AIRCRAFT WITHOUT INCIDENT. MR. MERTEN WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT AND DID NOT RECEIVE ANY INJURIES.

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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