- Date
- September 1, 1991, 19:00 local (Sep 2, 1991, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Brawley, CA
- Injuries
- 3 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4298CCessna C-340A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 3, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910901037499A
- Case key
- 27347
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's selection of the wrong landing runway and his failure to attain the proper touchdown location. Factors which contributed to the accident were related to the pilot's inadequate observations of the weather and the tailwind condition which existed.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Returning to the pilot's home base airport, the pilot indicated that he overflew the uncontrolled field and then entered the traffic pattern for runway 26 which was over 4400 feet long. The pilot reported that he observed the wind sock was parallel to the runway but failed to initially observe that he was landing with a nearly direct 20 to 25 knot tailwind. The airplane touched down long, overran the runway's departure end, collided with a pole and caught on fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4298C
- Reported as
- Cessna C-340A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 340A0601
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520NB, 310 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Norman Baron
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- MYF · San Diego, CA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- BWC · Brawley Municipal, runway 26, 4,447 × 60 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 1,597 total · 322 in this make and model · 1,475 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.