Pilots Must Be Prepared for ‘Unacceptable Stall Behavior’

Routine post-maintenance check flight turns catastrophic.

Peter Garrison

Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Even a slight alteration in the position of a stall strip can change the stalling behavior of an airplane. [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

Two experienced pilots fatally crashed a Hawker Beechcraft 900XP during a post-maintenance stall check, having conducted the test in probable icing conditions and at an unapproved altitude, violating procedure.
The aircraft experienced an unexpected, severe stall and spin, during which the pilot instinctively pulled back on the control column, a counterproductive action known to be a "startle-driven" response overriding training.
The NTSB attributed the accident primarily to the crew's decision to fly in probable icing and the manufacturer's failure to establish adequate training and experience requirements for pilots performing these critical stall tests.
The incident underscores how even highly experienced pilots can exhibit an instinctive, incorrect response to an unexpected stall, highlighting a critical human factors aspect in aviation safety.

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that when an airplane stalls, the pilot must push its nose down. And yet it sometimes happens that even quite experienced pilots do the opposite. That was the case in February 2024, when two airline transport pilots, who had a combined total of more than 23,000 hours in their logbooks, conducted a post-maintenance stall check on a Hawker Beechcraft 900XP.

The stall check is required after the leading edges of the wings have been removed for a routine, every-four-years inspection. The purpose is to confirm that some subtle, perhaps invisible distortion of leading-edge contour or change in the position of a stall strip has not changed the stalling behavior of the airplane.