Pilot Debrief

YAKOVLEV YAK-55M near Stevens Point, WI — 2014-06-01

Final reportCEN14FA266
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Date
2014-06-01
Location
Stevens Point, WI, USA
Airport
STE
Aircraft
YAKOVLEV YAK-55M
Registration
N176FD
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Maneuvering

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during the aerobatic flight, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and entering an accelerated stall at a low altitude.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing an aerobatic flight at an airshow event when the accident occurred. The flight team manager witnessed the accident and reported that the airplane entered an intentional inverted flat spin at the apex of an inside loop maneuver. The airplane completed more than 3 rotations in the inverted flat spin before recovering into a dive. The team manager then saw the airplane pitch up and enter an "aggressive" left turn. A review of ground-based video footage confirmed the sequence of events reported by the team manager and showed that, after the pitch up and left roll, the airplane entered a nose-low, descending left spiral that continued to ground impact. The observed flight path was consistent with an accelerated aerodynamic stall after the pilot had recovered from the inverted spin at a low altitude. The airplane cockpit was equipped with an aft-facing video camera that captured the pilot and his flight control movements. A review of the available cockpit footage confirmed that the pilot remained conscious throughout the accident flight and that the ailerons, elevator, and engine had responded to his control inputs. Although the rudder was obstructed from view in the video by the pilot's helmeted head, his observed leg movements were consistent with expected rudder inputs throughout the flight. Further, a postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have avoided aggressive maneuvers leading to stall.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Video
  • Photos
  • 25 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents25

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