This game could use some input calibration - it took me a couple minutes to figure out the reason the plane would always immediately pull down/left and crash.
I have my rudder pedals plugged in, and in their neutral state, the game interprets them as a joystick. So if I don't press them down halfway, the game thinks I'm trying to bank left and steer directly into the ground.
I have to unplug my pedals completely for the game to work, which isn't great