# Accident 20230708017239A: Cessna 550, Murrieta, CA, July 8, 2023

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 8, 2023, 04:14 local time
- Place: Murrieta, CA
- Airport: French Valley Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.5844° N, 117.1258° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.5844&lon=-117.1258&mi=10
- Aircraft: N819KR, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N819KR) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 550 (registry code 2076604, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-550) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 series (registry code 52112, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-jt15d-4-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 550
- Reported engine: PRATT & WHITTNEY JT15D-4
- People aboard: 6
- Fatal injuries: 6
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,130 total, 180 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR23FA257](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23FA257) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230708017239A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON JULY 8, 2023, ABOUT 0414 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 550, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT NEAR MURRIETA, CALIFORNIA. THE TWO PILOTS AND FOUR PASSENGERS WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS OPERATED AS A TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT.

PRELIMINARY AUTOMATIC DEPENDENT SURVEILLANCE-BROADCAST (ADS-B) DATA AND AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) COMMUNICATION SHOWED THAT THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED FRENCH VALLEY AIRPORT, (F70), MURRIETA, ABOUT 2118, AND LANDED AT HARRY REID INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LAS), LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, ABOUT 2204, THE NIGHT PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. ABOUT 0316, THE ADS-B DATA SHOWED THAT THE AIRPLANE DEPARTED LAS. AFTER CLIMBOUT, THE AIRPLANE LEVELED OFF AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 19,000 FT MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL). ABOUT 58 MILES NORTH OF F70, THE AIRPLANE STARTED THE DESCENT AND THE PILOT CHECKED IN WITH ATC, CANCELLING HIS INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) CLEARANCE. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE PILOT REPORTED TO ATC THAT THEY RECEIVED UPDATED WEATHER AND REQUESTED AN IFR CLEARANCE FOR THE RNAV APPROACH TO RUNWAY 18 AT F70.

THE PILOT WAS CLEARED DIRECT TIQMU (INITIAL APPROACH FIX) AND INSTRUCTED TO MAINTAIN 6,000 FT MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL). THE PILOT WAS THEN CLEARED AT OR ABOVE 4,600 FT MSL UNTIL TIQMU AND THEN FOR THE RNAV APPROACH. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE WAS ESTABLISHED ON THE APPROACH AT TIQMU AND WAS THEN GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS TO SWITCH TO THE F70 COMMON TRAFFIC ADVISORY FREQUENCY. ADSB DATA SHOWED THAT DURING THE FINAL APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED TO ABOUT 1,600 FT MSL, AND THEN EXECUTED A MISSED APPROACH. THE PILOT CHECKED BACK IN WITH THE CONTROLLER AND REQUESTED TO BE VECTORED BACK FOR ANOTHER INSTRUMENT APPROACH. HE WAS TOLD TO COMPLY WITH

PUBLISHED MISSED APPROACH INSTRUCTIONS AND TO MAINTAIN 5,000 FT MSL. THE DATA SHOWED THAT THE AIRPLANE PROCEEDED DIRECT TO THE JESEX WAYPOINT (PUBLISHED MISSED APPROACH HOLDING FIX)

AND THE PILOT WAS CLEARED AGAIN FOR THE RNAV APPROACH TO RUNWAY 18. ADS-B DATA SHOWED THAT THE AIRPLANE CROSSED TIQMU AT 4,600 FT MSL, AND WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE

DESCENDED BELOW THE DECISION ALTITUDE FOR THE APPROACH, WHICH WAS 1,600 FT MSL. THE LAST RECORDED ADS-B DATA POINT INDICATED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS ON A HEADING ABOUT 192°, WITH A GROUND SPEED ABOUT 128 KNOTS, AND AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 1,450 FT MSL.

THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TERRAIN ABOUT 800 FT SHORT OF THE RUNWAY 18 THRESHOLD. THE INITIAL IMPACT

POINT WAS ALIGNED ALONG AN EXTENDED CENTERLINE OF THE RUNWAY. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST ABOUT

100 FT PAST THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT. A POST IMPACT FIRE CONSUMED MOST OF THE FUSELAGE. ALL MAJOR STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF THE AIRPLANE WERE LOCATED WITHIN THE 400 FT LONG WRECKAGE DEBRIS PATH.

AT 0335, THE AUTOMATED WEATHER OBSERVING SYSTEM (AWOS) AT F70 REPORTED IN PART, CLEAR SKY AND VISIBILITY OF 10 STATUTE MILES (SM). AT 0355, THE REPORTED WEATHER WAS AN OVERCAST CEILING AT 300 FT, AND VISIBILITY OF 3/4 SM. AT 0411, REPORTED WEATHER SHOWED THE VISIBILITY HAD REDUCED TO 1/2 SM AND FOG.

THE WRECKAGE WAS RECOVERED TO A SECURE FACILITY FOR FUTURE EXAMINATION.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR23FA257](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR23FA257), Jul 8, 2023: Cessna 550 (N819KR), Murrieta, CA, destroyed, 6 fatal. Probable cause: The flight crew’s decision to descend below the decision altitude of an instrument approach without having the appropriate runway visual reference(s) distinctively identified and with the visibility…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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