Accident Sequence
The pilot had completed ten three-point practice touch-and-go takeoff and landings without incident and was attempting the final landing of the day. During the landing roll, the airplane drifted off the centerline to the right. The pilot applied left rudder pressure to counteract the drift, but the airplane continued to veer in a right arc off the side of the runway, encountering a ditch. The impact pushed the engine into the firewall and forced the cockpit floor upward.
Pilot Actions and Statements
The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane prior to impact. In a later statement, the pilot identified several factors he thought contributed to the accident: a quartering right tailwind, lack of left tail wheel steering, impeded rudder control, pilot error/lack of experience for not attempting to steer via differential braking, and the presence of a ditch in close proximity to the runway. The wind was reported as a 4-knot right quartering tailwind from 070 degrees.
Aircraft Inspection
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane and found no evidence of a malfunction or failure with the brake, control, or ground steering systems.
Pilot Experience
The accident flight was the pilot's first solo flight in the make and model, although the pilot had previously accumulated about 140 hours in the same make and model.