Cessna 172M accident near Murrieta, California, February 14, 2006
On February 14, 2006 at about 7:10 pm local time, a Cessna 172M, registered N80859, was substantially damaged in an accident 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a partial loss of engine power resulting from the student pilot's mismanagement of the mixture control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 14, 2006 · about 7:10 pm local time
- Place
- Murrieta, California · French Valley Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172M · all 172Ms on the register
- Registration
- N80859 · no longer on the register · serial 66776
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed hard in a field adjacent to the airport during an attempted takeoff. The purpose of the solo flight was for the student pilot to perform practice touch-and-go takeoff and landings. After completing a normal takeoff, he continued around the traffic pattern and then preformed a normal landing. During the landing rollout he retracted the flaps, input full throttle, and pushed the mixture control partially forward, leaving it out about 7/8 inch. The airplane lifted off the runway surface and climbed to about 50 to 100 feet above ground level (agl), with an airspeed of about 60 knots. The airplane was not able to maintain the airspeed and the student pilot thought the engine was only producing partial power. While performing a precautionary landing in an open field the airplane landed hard. Post accident examinations by both the operator and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed no evidence of engine or airframe anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The FAA inspector stated that the signatures on the spark plugs indicated a very lean condition. An engine run was conducted the day following accident and the FAA inspector ran the engine noting no discrepancies.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 50 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 3 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Textron Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: French Valley Aviation, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: F70 Murrieta CA
- Destination: F70 Murrieta CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 6,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 55 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 6:55 pm from RIV, 19 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.