N5561C

The airplane ground looped while on the landing roll. The pilot stated that the purpose of the flight was to practice takeoff and landings in his recently purchased tail wheel equipped airplane. On the first landing he configured the airplane for a wheel landing with no flaps. Upon touchdown, the airplane bounced slightly and the pilot applied power and forward pressure on the control yoke. The airplane veered to the left of the runway centerline and the pilot manipulated the control yoke aft in an effort to lower the tail wheel. As the tail wheel came into contact with the runway surface, the airplane swerved to the right. The pilot attempted to correct the veering by applying full left rudder input and brake pressure. With the airplane diverging about 30 degrees from the runway centerline, the pilot opted to make a go-around and applied full power. The airplane departed off the right side of the runway into the soft mud of a recently plowed field. The airplane ground looped and subsequently nosed over, incurring damage to the wings and rudder.

The pilot reported calm winds. He stated that the accident may have been prevented if he had received more dual instruction on a tail wheel equipped airplane. The pilot had a total flying experience of 5,500 hours, of which 11 hours were amassed in a tail wheel equipped airplane.