LAX94LA023

The certified flight instructor and the dual student had made three previous touch and go landings prior to the accident. The CFI stated that the dual student had configured the aircraft for a short field landing using 30 degrees of flaps and approximately 60 knots airspeed. The CFI stated as they approached the threshold the airplane dropped abruptly. The dual student added full power to go around, but the aircraft continued to sink. The CFI said they encountered an unexpected crosswind and they attempted to correct by dropping the right wing and by keeping the nose aligned with the runway. The airplane hit a ridgeline prior to touchdown on the runway. According to the FAA safety inspector, this particular airport in notorious for having wind sheer problems due to the proximity to mountainous terrain.

On October 24, 1993, at 1500 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 172, N96353, encountered wind sheer while on short final to runway 15 and subsequently crashed at Murrieta Airport, Murrieta, California. The pilot was conducting a local area visual flight rules instructional flight. The airplane, operated by Sunrise Aviation, Santa Ana, California, sustained substantial damage. The certificated flight instructor and the private pilot/dual student were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at Santa Ana Airport at 1330 hours.

The certified flight instructor (CFI) reported in the NTSB form 6120.1/2 that they observed the wind from the southwest and, therefore, decided to use runway 15 for the short field takeoffs and landings. The CFI reported that they had made three previous touch and go landings to the same runway prior to the accident. He stated on the last approach the dual student configured the airplane for a short field landing with 30 degrees of flaps and an approximate airspeed of 60 knots. He stated as the airplane approached the threshold of the runway, "it dropped abruptly." The dual student reportedly added full throttle. Despite the application of full throttle and maximum climb performance attitude, the airplane continued to sink "due to wind shear."

The CFI said they encountered "unexpected chop from the prevailing right crosswind" and the right wing of the airplane was low with the nose aligned with the runway in an effort to correct for the right crosswind. As the aircraft continued to sink, the right gear hit a ridgeline prior to touchdown on the runway.

The right main gear strut and tire folded back along the fuselage and the right side of the horizontal stabilizer were damaged due to the impact with the ridgeline.

The Federal Aviation Inspector who interviewed the pilot by telephone after the accident, stated that the Murrieta airport was notorious for having wind related problems. This was due in part to its proximity to the mountainous terrain. He spoke at length to the certified flight instructor on how he could incorporate a different technique for short field takeoffs and landings into his future training scenarios. The FAA Inspector also reported that the operator of the aircraft has removed this airport from their training curriculum due to the potential for encountering more problems with the location of this particular airport.