NTSB Factual Report

The pilot was landing at his destination at the end of a cross-country flight. While turning onto final, the airplane was higher than normal and he extended the flaps to 30 degrees. The airplane was not descending normally and he looked at the flap indicator, which showed 20 degrees, although the selector arm was at 30 degrees. The pilot then moved the selector further down, attempting to obtain 30 degrees of flaps. The airplane rapidly slowed, the stall warning horn sounded, and the airplane veered sharply to the left. The pilot applied full throttle, retracted the flaps, and then the airplane impacted the ground. According to the aircraft recovery personnel, when the flaps were selected, the appropriate flap extension would occur. However, the indicator read 10 degrees off.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and uncontrolled descent into terrain during landing. A contributing factor was the pilot's distracted attention due to the inaccurate flap indicator.