Incident Overview
The flight was conducting a visual approach and had been cleared to follow a Lockheed L-1011. The crew was warned to use caution against wake turbulence. During the approach, at an altitude of 1,600 feet, the aircraft encountered wake turbulence from the preceding L-1011. The encounter caused a loss of control, resulting in the aircraft rolling to an inverted position.
Pilot Response and Recovery
The two pilots executed a 'split-S' maneuver to regain control. They successfully recovered the aircraft from the inverted attitude at 400 feet above ground level. Following the recovery, a normal landing was performed without further incident.
Radar Data Analysis
Radar data indicated that the Lockheed L-1011 had crossed the point where N37359 encountered the turbulence approximately 1 minute and 34 seconds earlier, at an altitude of 2,100 feet. The time separation and altitude difference were factors in the wake turbulence encounter.