What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Executed hammer head stall too low for recovery from the dive. (-23) aircraft struck terrain during attempted recovery from vertical climb maneuver while performing an aerobatic demonstration. An eyewitness who is an experienced aerobatic pilot stated that it was evident to him that there was not enough altitude for recovery at the top of the maneuver, and that the pilot seemed too low when the maneuver was done earlier in the same performance.
As the FAA filed it
EXECUTED HAMMER HEAD STALL TOO LOW FOR RECOVERY FROM THE DIVE. (-23) AIRCRAFT STRUCK TERRAIN DURING ATTEMPTED RECOVERY FROM VERTICAL CLIMB MANEUVER WHILE PERFORMING AN AEROBATIC DEMONSTRATION. AN EYEWITNESS WHO IS AN EXPERIENCED AEROBATIC PILOT STATED THAT IT WAS EVIDENT TO HIM THAT THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH ALTITUDE FOR RECOVERY AT THE TOP OF THE MANEUVER, AND THAT THE PILOT SEEMED TOO LOW WHEN THE MANEUVER WAS DONE EARLIER IN THE SAME PERFORMANCE.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.