Event CEN12CA119

Factual narrative

The student pilot reported he was “pretty slow” and flying about 200 feet above ground level when he entered a sudden steep left turn. The student pilot did not add power as he entered the turn and said he probably used too much aileron. During the turn the airplane suddenly entered a spin and impacted the ground in a steep nose down attitude. The impact caused substantial damage to all structural components of the airplane. The student pilot said he had about five hours of experience in the accident airplane and had not received any flight instruction in that type. In addition the student pilot stated he thought the cause of the accident was pilot error and that he should have kept a higher airspeed and been at a higher altitude. The student pilot reported that the airplane’s airspeed was “pretty slow” and that he was flying about 200 feet above ground level when he entered a sudden steep left turn. He did not add power as he entered the turn and likely used too much aileron. During the turn, the airplane stalled, entered a spin, and impacted the ground in a steep nose-down attitude. The impact caused substantial damage to all structural components of the airplane. The student pilot said he had about 5 hours of experience in the accident airplane and had not received any flight instruction in this make and model airplane. The passenger was not a pilot. In addition, the student pilot stated that he thought the accident would not have occurred if he had maintained a higher airspeed and had been at a higher altitude. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Student pilot - C