Incident Overview
A flight instructor was demonstrating an airplane to a prospective buyer who reported 900 hours of flight time but had not completed the private pilot checkride. During the preflight briefing, the instructor told the passenger that he could try making the takeoff and that she "would take over if necessary."
Sequence of Events
During the initial takeoff climb, the passenger pulled the nose up excessively, reaching a nose-high attitude of approximately 60 degrees, and then froze on the controls. When the passenger eventually relinquished the controls, the flight instructor was unable to recover the aircraft. The airplane sank at a fast rate, impacted the ground, and bounced. Subsequently, the aircraft cartwheeled and came to a stop inverted on the grass approximately 200 feet off the runway.