Cessna 172 N1516E accident near Montville, Maine

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain the proper airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during a low-altitude climbing turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that he had performed a practice candy drop pass over a field about 300 ft above ground level. He then initiated a climbing 30º banked, right turn to circle back to the field and "neglected [the] airspeed," and the airplane aerodynamically stalled, descended, struck trees, and impacted the ground inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing and empennage. The pilot reported that 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 GAA19CA407 for the full record.