The pilot was landing at the remote agricultural airstrip in El Campo, Texas, for the first time.
While on the final approach to land to the south, just before touchdown, he saw a ground spray rig move toward the turf runway. The Air Tractor AT 602 touched down uneventfully to the dry grass.
During the landing roll, the pilot reported that the ground spray rig “pulled out on me, not thinking it could be on the road that went around the end of the airstrip.”
He incorrectly judged, from his elevated position sitting in the tailwheel airplane, that the ground spray rig was crossing the runway, and thought a runway incursion was occurring.
He applied full power and with the turbine engine acceleration lag condition, he realized that he was “not going to have enough time” to perform a go-around.
He reduced the power and attempted to stop the airplane before he ran out of available runway.
The plane hit a metal perimeter fence, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage, the right aileron, and the engine mount.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s misjudgment of a ground spray rig’s position and his incorrect belief that a runway incursion might occur, which resulted in the pilot attempting and then aborting a go-around, which resulted in a runway excursion and collision with a fence.
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This April 2020 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
