Date: 202009
Local time of day: 1201-1800
Location: ZZZ.TRACON, US
Weather elements / visibility: Haze / Smoke; 2
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: PA-46 Malibu/Malibu Mirage/Malibu Matrix
Operator: Personal
Operating under: Part 91
Flight plan: VFR
Mission: Training
Flight phase: Cruise
Airspace: Class E ZZZ
ATC / advisory: TRACON ZZZ
Reporter organization: Personal
Reporter function: Pilot Flying; Single Pilot
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Instrument
Human factors: Confusion; Situational Awareness; Time Pressure; Workload
Anomaly: Deviation - Speed All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Result: Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Contributing factors: Aircraft; Weather; Human Factors; Environment - Non Weather Related
Primary problem: Ambiguous

Narrative: During a flight to maintain currency an upset event occurred.  Aircraft X took off from ZZZ on a VFR flight with flight following.  After takeoff and communication hand off from ZZZ Tower to Departure; Aircraft X was instructed by ATC to maintain runway heading due to traffic.  After watching the traffic pass on the moving map display and no other traffic in the immediate area; asked ATC for permission to proceed on course.  ATC apologized for the delay and cleared Aircraft X to proceed on course.  Leveling off at 5;500 feet MSL and after visually and electronically checking for traffic; setup for slow flight and approach to stall practice.  Retarded throttle; airspeed was already below 165 knots so landing gear was extended; verified all gear was down and locked.  Held altitude while speed bleed off; applying flaps incrementally until fully extended.  Began stabilized slow flight; adjusting throttle and pitch as necessary to maintain 5;500 feet.  Winds at 5;500 MSL were 18 knots and there was some light turbulence.  After 1-2 minutes of steady slow flight the airspeed indicator dropped quickly even though there were no rapid throttle or control surface adjustments.  The stall horn began sounding continuously and the aircraft experienced very slight buffeting at which point full throttle and downward pitch were applied simultaneously and in the same instant the right wing dropped extremely rapidly as if the aircraft had been commanded into a snap roll.  The roll continued even as left aileron and left rudder were applied with no effect and in less than 2 seconds the aircraft was inverted.  At this point the nose dropped and the aircraft entered a right-hand spiral dive.  The throttle was immediately retarded and standard recovery efforts begun.  Attempts to level the wings were complicated by the g-forces as the pilot struggle to remain upright.  At least 5-7 right hand turns occurred in spite of left aileron input.  At approximately 500-700 feet AGL; control was reestablished and the aircraft returned to zero roll.  A climb was initiated and as the airspeed dropped the pilot remembered the aircraft was still in full landing configuration with the throttle at idle.  Power was added; flaps retracted one notch and the landing gear was retracted.  Continued retracting flaps one notch at a time as speed and altitude increased.After returning to a safer altitude; all aircraft controls were checked and seemed to be normal with no apparent explanation for the un-commanded roll.  Only after landing and examining the aircraft was the extreme damage noted.  Apparently during the spiral dive; the aircraft exceeded speed and g-force limitations even though the pilot does not recall an overspeed warning.




Synopsis: PA46 pilot reported loss of aircraft control and aircraft damage.