This story is eerily similar to the tragic saga of New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson, who died in a plane crash in 1979 while landing his private jet at the airport in Canton, Ohio in August. Munson was using the plane to fly back home to Ohio from New York on off days. George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, was so adamant about keeping Munson on the team that he was willing to make an exception for him and eliminate the standard provision in standard contracts back then that voided the contract in the event the player died or became disabled while engaged in certain dangerous activities off the field like skydiving, auto racing, piloting a private aircraft, etc.
Quite a ride for a newer pilot to master. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to recognize the need for, and to take action to maintain, sufficient airspeed to prevent a stall into the ground during an attempted landing. The pilot also failed to recognize the need for timely and sufficient power application to prevent the stall during an approach conducted inadvertently without flaps extended.
Contributing to the pilot's inability to recognize the problem and to take proper action was his failure to use the appropriate checklist, and his nonstandard pattern procedures which resulted in an abnormal approach profile.