# Incident 20250130000909I: Piper PA-31-350, Murrieta, CA, January 30, 2025

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 30, 2025, 11:45 local time
- Place: Murrieta, CA
- Airport: French Valley Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: VMNA
- Location: 33.5742° N, 117.1285° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FRENCH VALLEY (F70), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.5742&lon=-117.1285&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1872E, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1872E) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-350 (registry code 7103110, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-350) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-31-350
- Reported engine: LYCOMING TI0-540 SER
- People aboard: 9
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 25,000 total, 5,900 in this make and model, 51 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250130000909I

## Narrative

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

ON 30 JAN., 2025, THE FLIGHT BEGAN AT KNUC AND TERMINATED AT F70. 8 PASSENGERS WERE ABOARD. VFR CONDITIONS AT F70 WERE 3300 OVC-BKN, WIND SW AT 12 - 15 KNOTS. THE PIC CROSSED THE AIRFIELD ABOVE THE TRAFFIC PATTERN ALTITUDE AND RETARDED THE POWER TO IDLE EXTENDING HIMSELF OUTBOUND AT AN APPROXIMATE 40 DEGREE ANGLE AWAY FROM THE LANDING POINT ON THE RUNWAY. THE PIC THEN PUT THE AIRCRAFT INTO A STEEP BANK TO THE LEFT BACK TOWARD THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD WHILE EXTENDING FLAPS AND RESETTING POWER FOR THE FINAL DESCENT, INSCRIBING A TEARDROP SHAPED PATTERN TO THE LANDING POINT. THE AIRMAN FAILED TO EXTEND THE GEAR IN THE TIME AVAILABLE AND DID NOT HAVE A STABILIZED FINAL APPROACH, BUT RATHER A STEEPER THAN NORMAL DESCENT ASSOCIATED WITH A WIDE SWEEPING TURN TO THE TOUCHDOWN (NO DOWNWIND, BASE OR FINAL LEGS WERE FLOWN (ACCORDING TO ADSBEXCHANGE.COM FLIGHT TRACKING). THE AIRMAN FAILED TO EXTEND THE LANDING GEAR, MAKING QUITE A HARD LANDING, RESULTING IN MINOR INJURIES TO TWO PASSENGERS. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST RIGHT-SIDE UP, SEVERAL FEET WEST OF THE CENTERLINE OF RUNWAY 18, ABOUT 300 FEET PAST THE POINT OF TOUCHDOWN.

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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