Incident Overview
The owner of the aircraft had granted the pilot permission to fly the aircraft. The pilot chose to take a passenger in the front seat. Following the accident, differing accounts emerged from the pilot and passenger regarding the sequence of events.
Pilot's Account
According to the pilot, he was conducting a high-speed taxi run on the grass on the right side of the runway. He reported that the lower right wing impacted a runway marker, causing the aircraft to veer to the right. Subsequently, the left landing gear failed, and the tail rose high enough for the propeller to strike the ground and break.
Passenger's Account
The passenger, however, stated that the aircraft was airborne when she looked in the mirror and saw the pilot grab for his hat. She recalled that the aircraft then hit something, veered, and came nose down on the grass terrain.
Runway Marker History
The runway marker that was struck was reportedly one that remained from a period when the runway was a broad grass strip.