What happened
The incident occurred during a local training flight involving a student pilot and an instructor. Prior to the accident, the student completed three full-stop landings without assistance before the instructor boarded the aircraft for the next phase of instruction.
During the subsequent landing attempt, the instructor observed that the latter half of the grass runway was significantly wetter than the first half. To mitigate potential hydroplaning or reduced friction, the decision was made to reverse direction and land toward the east. The approach was conducted with full flaps deployed at an airspeed of 80 knots.
The aircraft touched down approximately halfway down the available runway surface. At the moment of touchdown, roughly 1700 feet of runway remained. Initially, the deceleration appeared normal. However, shortly thereafter, the student pilot reported a complete loss of braking capability.
In an effort to stop the aircraft using differential thrust or rudder input, the instructor attempted to ground loop the plane. Instead of turning as intended, the aircraft continued to skid straight ahead due to the lack of functional brakes. The aircraft departed the end of the runway and descended into a ravine, resulting in a nose-over attitude.
The investigation
Post-accident examination of the airframe was conducted to determine the mechanical status of the braking system. The inspection confirmed that the brakes were inoperative at the time of the incident.