Piper PA46R-350T N920X accident near Rogers, Arkansas

Probable cause

The pilot’s inadvertent loss of aircraft control, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe during the spin recovery.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that while practicing slow flight and approach-to-stall maneuvers at 5,500 ft msl with the landing gear and flaps fully extended, the stall warning horn sounded, and the airplane began buffeting. The pilot advanced the throttle and lowered the nose of the airplane to recover from the maneuver, when the right wing dropped, the airplane rolled over inverted, and subsequently entered a right spiral dive. The pilot reported that after 5 to 7 turns he regained control of the airplane leveling at 500 to 700 ft agl. The pilot returned to the airport and landed without further incident. Postaccident examination revealed the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage above the left wing’s trailing edge, below and forward of the empennage, above the right horizontal stabilizer, and at the tail cone below the right and left horizontal stabilizers. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN20LA430 for the full record.