An airplane whose CG is significantly far behind the aft limit becomes neutrally stable or even mildly unstable. It can still be flown by a sufficiently alert pilot, but to a pilot who is unprepared for it, the experience is disorienting and can easily lead to overcontrol. Overcontrol in the nose-up direction, in turn, can end in loss of control.
That, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded, was the cause of the crash of a 1999 Piper Saratoga at North Captiva Island, Florida, in June 2014. The 2,000-hour instrument-rated private pilot, 62, was bringing a load of ceramic tiles from Fort Myers, 20 miles away on the mainland, to be used in a remodel of his house. He had made a similar run earlier that day and was the only occupant of the airplane.
