During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 9, the flight instructor, who was an employee of the National Park Service, said the Park Service was conducting a pilot training seminar where a mentor pilot (instructor) familiarizes other qualified pilots (student pilots) with Park Service flight procedures, such as aerial animal surveys. He said he and the student pilot performed the maneuvers discussed during the pre-mission briefing, and while returning to the airport he asked the student if he wanted to do any other maneuvers. The student requested to practice off airport landings at the gravel airstrip where the accident occurred. The flight instructor said he felt his expectations and the outcome of the maneuver had not been properly communicated to the student, and that during the landing roll the student applied the brakes too heavily, and the airplane nosed over. The instructor said prior to the accident there were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane, and that during the accident the airplane sustained damage to the vertical stabilizer, wings, lift-struts, and windshield.