| Brown Field Municipal Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: SDM – ICAO: KSDM – FAA LID: SDM | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | City of San Diego | ||
| Serves | San Diego, California | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 526 ft / 160 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 8L/26R | 7,972 | 2,430 | Asphalt/Concrete |
| 8R/26L | 3,180 | 969 | Asphalt |
Brown Field Municipal Airport (IATA: SDM, ICAO: KSDM, FAA LID: SDM) is located in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Downtown San Diego and named in honor of Commander Melville S. Brown, USN, who was killed in an airplane crash in 1936. Its primary runway is 7,972 feet (2,430 m) long. Its FAA/IATA airport code of SDM probably comes from "San Diego Municipal". Formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station Brown Field, it is now a civilian reliever airport and a port of entry from Mexico. It is sometimes staffed by the U.S. Customs Service, but only upon the request of incoming pilots to the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Brown Field first opened in 1918 as East Field, later becoming NAAS Otay Mesa and then NAAS Brown Field, both in 1943. NAAS Brown Field was an active U.S. Navy installation until 1962, after which it was closed and converted into a civilian airport for general aviation use.
Tijuana Airport, a commercial passenger facility, is just over 1 nmi (1.9 km) to the south, with a similar length and a slightly different runway orientation (09 / 27).
A precision approach is not possible to either runway end due to steep, rising terrain (elevation 3,600 feet) less than six miles (10 km) east of the airport. There have been several crashes due to pilots not maintaining sufficient altitude over these nearby mountains (often flying VFR at night).
On March 16, 1991, seven members of Reba McEntire's band and her road manager were among 10 people who died in the crash of a plane that departed from Brown Field. The aircraft impacted terrain on Otay Mountain northeast of the airport.[1]