Learjet 35A accident near San Diego, California, October 24, 2004
On October 24, 2004 at about 7:25 am local time, a Learjet 35A, registered N30DK, was destroyed in an accident near San Diego, California (Brown Field Municipal Airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 5 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the flight crew to maintain terrain clearance during a VFR departure, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain, and the air traffic controller's issuance of a clearance that transferred the responsibility for terrain clearance from the flight crew to the controller, failure to provide terrain clearance instructions to the flight crew, and failure to advise the flight crew of the MSAW alerts. Contributing to the accident was the pilots' fatigue, which likely contributed to their degraded decision-making.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 24, 2004 · about 7:25 am local time
- Place
- San Diego, California · Brown Field Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Learjet 35A · all 35As on the register
- Registration
- N30DK · no longer on the register · serial 345
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board adopted the final report of this accident investigation, including the analysis and probable cause, on May 23, 2006. The Board's full report is available on : http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/AAB0605.pdf On October 24, 2004, about 0025 Pacific daylight time, a Learjet 35A twin-turbofan airplane, N30DK, registered to and operated by Med Flight Air Ambulance, Inc. (MFAA), collided into mountainous terrain shortly after takeoff from Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), near San Diego, California. The captain, the copilot, and the three medical crewmembers received fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The repositioning flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 with an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan filed. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight, which was the fourth and final leg of a trip that originated the previous day, departed SDM at 0023.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 600 in this make and model
- Last flight review: August 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 61 in this make and model
- Last flight review: August 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,047.6 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 1, 2004; 132 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 18,300 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Garrett TFE731-2-2B (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Garrett TFE731-2 (turbojet); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SDM San Diego CA at 7:23 am
- Destination: ABQ Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8L, 7,999 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from SDM, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 5 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.