RenegadeMan

With the photo of the wreckage showing the gear down and (appearing to be) locked, this suggests the aircraft had been configured for the approach. Where it went down is still a fair way outside the Goolwa circuit so it is possible the PIC was either demonstrating a stall in a power-on, gear & flaps out config or he had one of the young guys at the controls stall it in that config to show how it reacts. It's then perhaps dropped a wing violently, gotten away from him and with a passenger in the back the CG is too far aft to recover it in the available altitude. A simple stall in the approach configuration has turned into a disaster. I ran through a playback on FR24 an hour either side of the accident time and the flight's not on there at all. The last recorded flight was on 4/Feb/26 from Port Augusta to Parafield so, for some unknown reason, the ADSB-out was switched off.

Video footage. Sadly, that looks like an unsurvivable stall-spin accident: https://x.com/7NewsAdelaide/status/2019694673267400809?s=20

That's detail that Mr and Mrs Average sitting at home watching their pre-packaged 30 min news broadcast shaking their heads about "the foolhardiness of flying in a 'homemade' aircraft" are simply never going to hear about. Light aircraft already have such a chequered history for the masses many people they consider it a highly dangerous activity you'd have to be very brave to undertake. But a 'homemade' one, geez you'd have to have rocks in your head! And that folks is yet another tiny example of the misinformation and fallaciousness our world is consumed by. Headline stories are a dime a dozen. Indepth analysis and accuracy, it's just not something too many are interested in anymore.

Unfortunately it does (but pure speculation of course). These sorts of accidents are a timely reminder that a stall on approach is but a few moments of inattention to airspeed during manoeuvring. If it was the classic stall during turn onto base or final then many hundreds of similar accidents have happened across the globe. Updated report just now on the ABC News channel said the pilot was a member at Newcastle Aero Club. Very sorry for his family and friends.

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6759416/man-dies-in-light-plane-crash-near-maitland-airport/?cs=7573