Cessna 550 accident near Murrieta, CA

On July 8, 2023, a Cessna 550 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Murrieta, CA. 6 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

July 8, 2023

Place

Murrieta, CA

Aircraft

Cessna 550 · Airplane

Injuries

6 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

33.584°N, 117.126°W

NTSB ID

20230708192559

Official records · WPR23FA257

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• ATC - Attachment 2 - Audio Recordings: Recording (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Group Chairman's Factual Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 1 - Memorandum For Record: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 3 - Ads-B Data: Document (ZIP), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 4 - Facility Logs And Records: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 8, 2023, about 0414 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 550, jet airplane, N819KR, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Murrieta, California. The 2 pilots and 4 passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. According to ADS-B and air traffic control data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, the airplane departed French Valley Airport (F70), Murrieta/Temecula, California, on a cross-country flight to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada, about 2118 the night before. The airplane departed on the return flight back to F70 about 6 hours later. After climb-out, the airplane leveled off at an altitude of about 19,000 ft mean sea level (msl). About 27 minutes into the flight, the airplane started a descent to its destination. About 0344, the pilot established contact with the Pomona radar controller and requested to cancel their IFR clearance. The controller acknowledged the cancellation and provided the altimeter setting and advised that VFR altitude and routing was at their discretion and that he had no weather or landing information for F70. The pilot responded and advised that he had the weather and landing information for F70. About 0351, and about 25 miles north of F70, the pilot reported that he had received updated weather and requested an IFR pickup for the RNAV (GPS) Runway 18 approach at F70. A few minutes before their arrival time at the destination airport, the weather had changed from being clear with 10 sm visi

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 below the minimum that was prescribed for the approach, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

More accidents in CA

• Douglas MD-83, Feb 1, 2000
• Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32, Aug 31, 1986
• British Aerospace BAE-146-200, Dec 8, 1987
• Beech C-99, Aug 24, 1984
• Sikorsky S-61N, Aug 6, 2008

Browse: California · Cessna aircraft

See it on the map

Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.