Aviation report 2011/40

The accident flight was a skill-test for a candidate that was to become a first officer on SA226-T(B) Merlins. The weather was not suited for flying skill-tests. It was low ceiling, rain showers and winds up to 40 kt and turbulence. The circuit breaker for the Stall Avoidance and Stability Augmentation System (SAS²) was pull presumably to avoid nuisance activations of the stick pusher in turbulence during previous demonstrations of slow flight. When demonstrating stalls, the examiner asked for a slow flight up to first indication of stall, and not an actual stall. He asked for call outs and a minimum loss of altitude recovery. The commander undertook the tasks of adding power and retracting gear and flaps on the candidate's request. It was IMC. During this exercise the crew lost control of attitude and airspeed. The stall warning came on, but the airspeed decreased, even with full power applied. Radar data show that the altitude increased 200 - 400 ft during the period where control was lost. Airspeed decreased to about 30 kt and a sink rate of about 10 000 ft/min eventually developed. The airplane hit the sea in a near horizontal attitude about 37 sec. after control was lost. All three on board were fatally injured.

Facts