Incident Overview
A training flight departed Savannah-Intl Airport and proceeded to cruising altitude over South Carolina. While en route, the aircraft went out of control and entered a dive, completing a 360-degree turn before crashing in a marshy field. The three crew members on board were killed.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined the probable cause to be an uncontrolled descent following the failure of the wing spoiler system.
Contributing Factors
Investigators identified the following contributing factors: unwanted extension of ground and flight spoilers, possibly due to a short circuit in the extended control kit, and failure of the left ground spoiler actuator in flight.