Last updated: 4 August 2021
| Status: | |
| Date: | Sunday 19 January 1930 |
| Time: | 18:23 |
| Type: |  Ford 5-AT-C Tri-Motor |
| Operator: | Maddux Airlines |
| Registration: | NC9689 |
| MSN: | 5-AT-046 |
| First flight: | 1929-05-28 (8 months) |
| Engines: | 3 Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 14 / Occupants: 14 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 16 / Occupants: 16 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Oceanside, CA ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Tijuana-Agua Caliente Airport, Mexico |
| Los Angeles-Grand Central Terminal, CA, United States of America |
The Ford 5-AT-C Tri-Motor was destroyed by fire after it impacted the ground near Oceanside, California in poor weather conditions. The aircraft had departed Agua Caliente, Mexico at 17:30 hours. The flight ran into blinding rain from a sudden squall that had blown in from the Pacific. The aircraft suddenly lost altitude and the left wing tip touched the ground, throwing the plane on its nose.
Probable Cause:
The T.A.T.-Maddux technical board of inquiry stated that the accident was the result of "a local weather condition of unpredicted and unforeseen characteristics."
Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Ground
Sources:
» The Ford Tri-Motor 1926-1992 / William T. Larkins» Disaster in the Air / By Edgar A. Haine, 2000
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Tijuana-Agua Caliente Airport to Los Angeles-Grand Central Terminal, CA as the crow flies is 218 km (136 miles).
Distance from Tijuana-Agua Caliente Airport to Los Angeles-Grand Central Terminal, CA as the crow flies is 218 km (136 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Ford Tri-Motor
