Originally Posted by
dash34
Seat failed, with the backrest moving backward, and the pilot grabbed the gear lever to try to bring himself upright?
The seat doesn't move fore-aft in a '52, the pedals do.
That aileron position will certainly have worked against prompt spin recovery. As to why the left aileron is full or near fullly raised....I don't know. The Yak 52 is a brilliant aircraft, though not one terribly forgiving of mishandling.