CEN22LA289

NTSB accident investigation · Glasair II FT · Monee, IL · June 24, 2022

Accident · Serious injuriesClass 3 · LimitedFinal report
Date
June 24, 2022, 15:18 local (20:18 UTC)
Place
Monee, IL
Injuries
1 serious
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Maneuvering
Aircraft
N350CPGlasair II FT
Defining event
Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
FAA Flight Standards
FAA report
20220624011319A
Case key
105358

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Probable cause

The pilot’s in-flight loss of control while practicing aerodynamic stall recoveries.

Findings · 1

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

The pilot was conducting power-off aerodynamic stall recoveries about 3,000 ft mean sea level (msl) at the time of the accident. The first three stall recoveries were unremarkable. However, before the fourth stall, the airplane’s deceleration rate and pitch attitude were greater than the previous three stall entries. The airplane snapped to the left and rolled inverted. It continued to roll and settled into an upright left spin with a relatively flat nose-down pitch attitude between 10° and 20°. Multiple attempts to recover from the spin were not successful. The airplane made about 6 complete rotations before it impacted the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the empennage. The pilot reported no malfunctions or failures associated with the airplane before the accident. He noted that initiating recovery at the first indication of the stall might have prevented the loss of control.

Factual narrative

On June 24, 2022, about 1518 central daylight time, a Glasair II FT airplane, N350CP, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Monee, Illinois. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot was conducting power-off aerodynamic stall recoveries about 3,000 ft msl. The pilot reported that the first three stall recoveries were unremarkable. However, before the fourth stall, the airplane’s deceleration rate and pitch attitude were greater than the previous three stall entries. The airplane snapped to the left and rolled inverted. It continued to roll and settled into an upright left spin with a relatively flat nose-down pitch attitude between 10° and 20°. Multiple attempts to recover from the spin were not successful. The airplane made about 6 complete rotations before it impacted the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the empennage. The pilot reported no malfunctions or failures associated with the airplane before the accident. He noted that initiating recovery at the first indication of the stall might have prevented the loss of control.

Aircraft

Registration
N350CP
Reported as
Glasair II FT
Category
Airplane, amateur-built
Serial number
1008
Built
1997
Airframe hours
603
Engine
Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Experimental (Special)
Last inspection
Condition · April 17, 2022 · 6 hours before
Departed
IGQ · Lansing, IL
Destination
ICQ · Lansing, IL
Equipment
Handheld GPS, ADS-B

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
64
Injuries
Serious
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
June 10, 2022
Seat
Left
Restraint
3-point
Flight hours
535 total · 500 in this make and model · 421 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
100° at 6 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
88 °F, dew point 57 °F
Altimeter
30.02 inHg
Observed at
KIGQ, 14 nm away
METAR
METAR KIGQ 242015Z AUTO 10006KT 10SM CLR 31/14 A3002

Docket · 2

The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 30, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 17.8 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.