I removed this from R&N to post here. This follows my prior post that spinning is not required for a flat spin, for which I was humiliated. That's an oxymoron, of course.
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Ever Seen a Flat Spin?
I'd wager not many people have been eyewitness to a flat spin. This tale is about an F-106 Delta Dart that was in a practice dogfight:
... I took them straight up at about 38,000 ft. We got into a vertical rolling scissors. I gave him a high G rudder reversal. He tried to stay with me, that's when he lost it. He got into a post stall gyration. This happens just prior to a stall. The aircraft violently rolls left and right and sometimes swaps ends, a very violent maneuver. His recovery attempt was unsuccessful and the aircraft stalled and went into a flat spin which is usually unrecoverable.
The aircraft looked like the pitot tube was stationary with the aircraft rotating around it. Very flat and rotating quite slowly. Well,. Gary rode it down to about 15,000 feet...
This seems to describe the circumstance of AF447.
In the F-106 case, the pilot set the controls per procedure and bailed out. The plane then recovered from the flat spin and landed itself. It was repaired and returned to service, forever after known as the "Cornfield Bomber."
F-106 Delta Dart - 58-0787 Pilotless Landing