What happened
The accident occurred while the aircraft was on final approach to land. As the aircraft descended below tree-top height, the pilot lost the headwind vector that had been providing relative airspeed. Consequently, the aircraft settled onto the runway for a hard landing.
Upon impact, the aircraft bounced. During the recovery from this bounce, the pilot applied additional power but simultaneously raised the flaps. This combination of actions caused the aircraft to lose lift rapidly. The aircraft stalled and impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude.
The investigation
The investigation reviewed the flight dynamics during the final phase of the approach. It was determined that the loss of headwind component at low altitude significantly reduced airspeed. The subsequent pilot input of raising flaps while attempting to recover from the bounce contributed directly to the stall condition.
Findings
Contributing factors included the loss of headwind vector during descent and the pilot's decision to raise flaps during a bounce recovery. The pilot had 97 hours of total flying experience at the time of the accident.