What I'm getting about United 1722, without reading the pilots' or the FAA's reports, are three possibilities:

1. Sudden shift of the direction and speed of the wind (aka windshear) caused the aircraft to stall,

2. A downdraft due to very heavy cold rain was encountered, exceeding the plane's vertical climb performance, or

3. A microburst was encountered, combining windshear and downdrafts, making for a deadly combination of 1 & 2.

In any case, it sounds like the pilots managed to pull off an incredible low-level save. I bet they were shaking after that one. I hope to read the final report someday.

#aviation #avgeek #unitedairlines #united1722 #aviationwx #windshear #pullup

https://theaircurrent.com/aviation-safety/united-maui-dive-ua1722-close-call/