Cessna 172N N5243E

Summary

On 4 July 2023 at about 20:57 local time, a Cessna 172N registered N5243E, operated by California Professional Flyers Inc, was involved in an accident near Murrieta, California, United States. 4 people were on board and one died, 3 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 July 2023 at 20:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Murrieta, California, United States

Nearest airport

French Valley Airport (F70)

Coordinates

33.5742, -117.1285

Aircraft

Cessna 172N

Registration

N5243E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

California Professional Flyers Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR23FA247

1 person died.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control. Contributing to the loss of control was the pilot’s sudden retraction of the flaps.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was taking his family for scenic flights after receiving his private pilot certificate about 2 weeks earlier. They completed one successful flight and then departed on the second, which was the accident flight. Upon returning to their departure airport, the airplane landed normally, but during the landing roll, the front seat passenger heard a “pop” sound and subsequently felt the airplane shake, at which time the pilot started to panic. The pilot advanced the throttle and the airplane lifted off the runway surface again. Surveillance video captured the airplane as it began to climb in a nose-high attitude, drifted left of the runway, then rolled inverted and rapidly descended. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The wing flaps were found in the retracted position. The source of the “pop” sound reported by the passenger could not be determined, nor could it be determined why the pilot chose to take off immediately after having successfully touched down on the runway, as he had planned a full-stop landing. The reported wind at the time of the accident indicated a headwind accompanied by a right crosswind that was within the airplane’s maximum demonstrated crosswind component. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control. Evidence shows that the pilot retracted the flaps from the fully extended position to the flaps up position while the airplane was in a high angle of attack as it veered left of the runway towards buildings. The sudden retraction of flaps at a low altitude would have resulted in a loss of lift and a descent, which likely contributed to the loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.