McFrank,
The threads would not necessarily have had to fail to cause this. For example, if the propeller hub crushed an 1/8th of an inch, the shaft could move back that far. There isn't that much clearance to the backplate, so the crank pin might come thru.
When I was first learning the reverse wingover--the third one I think--I hesitated on the controls and went straight in. Lots of scattered metal in that privy dance. The end of the road for an OS .35FP with only 50 flights on it. And the Lightning Streak it was attached to. That was my first plane in maybe 25 years...?
The Divot
"Scattering debris throughout the finest flying fields in Southern California"