At first, I thought they were doing this in a flight simulator.
The way the sunlight spins around in the cockpit just tells you how real and intense this was.
By far, the scariest flight test video of a transport category airplane I’ve ever seen!
Not only was there an intentional stall, but it was deliberately mishandled. Take note of the pilot in the left-hand seat; the aileron was rolled significantly to the right just before the stall and wing drop. Additionally, there was substantial power applied – the thrust levers were retarded, and the spoiler was deployed when the aircraft descended like a lawn dart.
The purpose of this maneuver is to assess the aircraft’s behavior when a pilot mishandles a wing drop during a stall, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “aileron reversal.” In such cases, the control inputs, such as “roll right,” result in the aircraft rolling left, as observed here.
The combination of a high nose attitude, a power-on stall, and incorrect handling characterizes this as a worst-case stall scenario. The recovery process consumed several thousand feet. Now, envision someone engaging in such behavior immediately after takeoff or during a go-around, where altitude is crucial.
