Murrieta/Temecula Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

French Valley, California 92562
Thursday, July 31, 2003 19:33 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted the ground while maneuvering during a go around. According to witnesses, the airplane was about midfield on runway 18, approximately 100 feet above ground level (agl). The airspeed was a little faster than an "airplane that just takes off." Suddenly, the nose went straight up and came over the top. The airplane turned "like he [the pilot] was going to climb out." One witness thought that the pilot was doing some sort of aerobatic loop or had a control malfunction. The airplane turned slightly left during the loop, and it was tail low. The airplane came to rest about midfield, perpendicular to its original heading, and facing east. The aircraft in the area around the time of the accident were small, general aviation aircraft. In a post-impact inspection, investigators established control continuity.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's attempted low altitude flight maneuver during a go-around, which resulted in his loss of control of the airplane and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/31/2003
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1933
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City French Valley
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92562
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 333434N
Event Location Longitude 1170741W
Event Location Airport Murrieta/Temecula
Event Location Nearest Airport ID F70
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1350
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1956 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 100
Weather Observation Facility ID KRIV
Elevation of weather observation facility 818
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 28
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 22000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 15000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 290
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16959
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 31 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 28 2004 12:45PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-RAL-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N972V
NTSB Number LAX03LA251
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model 77
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number WA-39
Certified Max Gross Weight 1675
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Darrell Roberts
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Murrieta
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 92562
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KVNY
Departure City Van Nuys
Departure State CA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code F70
Destination City French Valley
Destination State CA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Go-around (VFR)
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 28 2004 5:25PM
User who most recently changed record LABJ
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 18
Runway Length 4600
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --