Branzel

In this wrongful death action, defendant City of Concord (City) appeals from a judgment entered upon a jury verdict in favor of plaintiffs and against City in the sum of $41,000. The same jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and against plaintiffs. Plaintiffs have not appealed from the adverse judgment entered on this verdict.

Plaintiffs are the wife and children of decedent Clarence Matthew Branzel. On the afternoon of March 13, 1961 the Branzels—Clarence, Eleanor, his wife, and Major his son, then 16 years old, went to an area maintained by the City for the flying of model airplanes. The purpose of the occasion was to fly a plane recently built by Major, who belonged to a model airplane club called the Concord Model Engineers and had been flying such planes for about two years. Major’s plane was of the general type equipped with a motor and flown in a circle by holding and maneuvering a long wire line attached to the plane. The line was about 70 feet long and the plane was capable of 3 to 5 minutes sustained flight at a speed of approximately 60 to 70 miles per hour.

It was stipulated at the trial that the field was located on…