Amateur-built II FT N350CP accident near Monee, Illinois

Probable cause

The pilot’s in-flight loss of control while practicing aerodynamic stall recoveries.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting power-off aerodynamic stall recoveries about 3,000 ft mean sea level (msl) at the time of the accident. The first three stall recoveries were unremarkable. However, before the fourth stall, the airplane’s deceleration rate and pitch attitude were greater than the previous three stall entries. The airplane snapped to the left and rolled inverted. It continued to roll and settled into an upright left spin with a relatively flat nose-down pitch attitude between 10° and 20°. Multiple attempts to recover from the spin were not successful. The airplane made about 6 complete rotations before it impacted the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the empennage.

The pilot reported no malfunctions or failures associated with the airplane before the accident. He noted that initiating recovery at the first indication of the stall might have prevented the loss of control.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22LA289 for the full record.