Accident Details
A solo student pilot was conducting a landing. During the landing roll, the airplane drifted to the right of the runway centerline. The pilot applied left rudder to correct the drift. He then decided to abort the landing and applied full power. Subsequently, the airplane veered to the left, departed the runway, and nosed over in rough terrain. The student pilot reported that the airplane remained at full power through the nose-over.
Aircraft Damage
The vertical stabilizer and both wings sustained substantial damage.
Pilot Report
The student pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause
According to the Federal Aviation Administration Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, "torque" (the left turning tendency of the airplane) is made up of four elements: torque reaction from engine and propeller, corkscrewing effect of the slipstream, gyroscopic action of the propeller, and asymmetric loading of the propeller (P-factor). It is likely that the student pilot did not counteract the left turning tendencies with sufficient right rudder after power was added to abort the landing.