Pilot Reports Spin and Transponder Deactivation Before Impact (N9453L)

Flight Details and Initial Reports A private pilot holding a 265-hour rating filed a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan from Boulder, Colorado, to Pueblo, Colorado, and requested VFR flight following services. Approximately thirty minutes into the flight, the pilot reported encountering moderate turbulence, which he later described as quite a bit of turbulence. He indicated he was turning around and requested flight following services to return to Boulder. ## Spin Report and Impact Shortly after these communications, the pilot advised that he was in a spin and unable to correct it. He also stated that he was turning off his transponder. The aircraft subsequently struck the ground in a near-vertical attitude. ## Logbook and Operating Handbook Findings The pilot's logbook indicated that he had never been demonstrated a spin or had received spin instruction. The Pilot's Operating Handbook for the aircraft prohibits spins and includes a warning that permitting a spin to go beyond one turn without initiating proper recovery procedures can allow a spin mode to develop from which recovery is not possible.