What happened
During a period of practicing touch-and-go landings, the pilot observed the aircraft drifting toward the right side of the runway. In an attempt to correct the drift, the pilot applied left rudder; however, this input was ineffective. Upon applying the left heel brake, the aircraft immediately nosed over.
The incident resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft. At the time of the event, the fuel levels were uneven, with the right wing tank at one-half full and the left wing tank at three-quarters full. The pilot noted that each wing was equipped with a 30.5-gallon fuel tank.
The investigation
The investigation examined the mechanical actions leading to the nose-over. The pilot suggested that the right brake may have engaged when the left heel brake was applied. Additionally, it was considered that fuel sloshing forward within the tanks may have contributed to the sudden drop of the nose.
Following the accident, the pilot planned to replace the existing heel brakes with toe brake pedals and intended to replace the 30.5-gallon tanks with smaller 12-gallon tanks.