Amateur-built JA30 SUPERSTOL N825PW accident near Chelan, Washington

Probable cause

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting a local flight. An airport surveillance camera captured the accident airplane departing from the runway and entering a nose high left turn. Shortly thereafter, the airplane's bank angle decreased, and its left yaw increased, and the airplane began to descend. A few seconds later, the airplane banked to the left, and entered a nose-low attitude amateur-built before impact with the ground.

Examination of the engine and the airframe revealed no preaccident anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack during the initial climb, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and spin at an altitude too low to recover.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR19FA133 for the full record.