Accident Sequence
After touchdown, a gust of wind pushed the tailwheel-equipped airplane toward the left side of the runway. The pilot-in-command (PIC) applied right rudder and right brake in an attempt to correct the drift. The check pilot, seated in the rear, added power, which resulted in a ground loop. The airplane continued its turn, traveling about 150 feet off the runway surface, until the left main landing gear dug into the ground and sheared off.
Pilot Statements
According to the check pilot, as the airplane crossed the end of the runway, on heading and about 5 knots above a stall, the wind shifted to the airplane's port quarter, with gusts up to 30 knots. The airplane stalled and "dropped to the runway with a rapid sink rate." The check pilot attempted to advise the PIC to go around "by adding power, but he thought I wanted control of the plane and threw up his hands and said, 'You got it!'" By that time, the airplane was off the right side of the runway, "in the sand and no one in control."
Aircraft Damage
The left main landing gear was sheared off during the ground loop. The airplane came to rest off the runway surface.