Amateur-built SPORTCRUISER accident near Murrieta, California, August 30, 2019
On August 30, 2019 at about 2:30 pm local time, a 2017 amateur-built SPORTCRUISER, registered N117BF, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Murrieta, California (French Valley airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The student pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing, and his subsequent loss of directional control and a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 30, 2019 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Murrieta, California · French Valley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SPORTCRUISER No Series, built 2017
- Registration
- N117BF · registry record · serial C0614
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The solo student pilot reported that his second approach for landing was low and that, when he flared, the wheels contacted the runway, and the airplane bounced. The student did not want to stall the airplane, so he pitched the nose down to level it, but it bounced again, drifted left, exited the runway, landed hard, and the nose landing gear collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Loss of control on ground during landing
- Runway excursion during landing
- Hard landing during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 21 hours in all; 21 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,053.3 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 14, 2019
- Maximum gross weight: 1,320 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 ULS (piston); 1,053 hours total
- Operator: Bountiful Flight LLC
The flight
- Departed from: F70 Murrieta/Temecula CA at 1:30 pm
- Destination: F70 Murrieta/Temecula CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 6,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 1:58 pm from KRIV, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number GAA19CA537.