WPR19TA018

The commercial pilot reported that he took off from a dry lake bed with a second airplane for people on the ground to visually compare the two. After a normal flight, the second airplane landed. The pilot flew past the landing spot, pulled into a nose-high attitude, and made a rapid left turn. He pushed on the left rudder control, and the left wing stalled. The pilot attempted to recover from the stall; however, the airplane was at too low of an altitude to recover, and it impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that the pilot failed to maintain airspeed during the sharp turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

On November 3, 2018, about 1000 Pacific daylight time, an amateur built Audenried Kitfox S7 Super Sport airplane, N13NZ, impacted terrain while maneuvering over a dry lake bed near Flanigan, Nevada. The commercial pilot was seriously injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The local flight originated from the Reno/Stead Airport (RTS), Reno, Nevada at 0830. The pilot reported that he took off from a dry lake bed with a second airplane for people on the ground to visually compare the two. After a normal flight, the second airplane landed. The pilot reported that he flew past the landing spot and pulled into a nose high attitude and made a rapid left turn. He pushed on the left rudder control, and the left wing stalled. The pilot attempted to recover from the stall; however, the airplane was too low, and it impacted the ground in a nose low attitude. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.