# Accident 20120507007879A: Air Tractor Inc AT-502B, El Campo, TX, May 7, 2012

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 7, 2012, 14:00 local time
- Place: El Campo, TX
- Airport: Rasmusson Air Strip
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Rotation
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: KFYG
- Location: 29.2708° N, 96.3264° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.2708&lon=-96.3264&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5016P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5016P-2018-02-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-502B (registry code 0390307, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-502b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52034, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-502B
- Reported engine: P&W PT6A SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 6,921 total, 2,945 in this make and model, 140 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN12CA301](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12CA301) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120507007879A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

DURING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR THE DISPERSEMENT OF FERTILIZER, THE PILOT FAILED TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT. WHILE OPERATING OUT OF A PACKED DIRT AND GRASS, FARM RUNWAY, THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED STATIONARY FARM EQUIPMENT IN HIS FIELD OF VISION. THIS RAISED THE PILOT'S LEVEL OF CONCERN FOR HIS SAFETY. THE PILOT ELECTED TO TAKE OFF AT A LESS THAN DESIRABLE AIR SPEED, WITH REGARDS TOR THE FERTILIZER LOAD AND TEMPERATURE OF THE DAY. UNABLE TO SEPARATE FROM GROUND EFFECT AND MAINTAIN ALTITUDE, THE AIRCRAFT CLIPPED A BARB WIRE AND WOODEN POST FENCE AT APPROXIMATELY 4 1/2 FEET AGL. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED IN A DIRECTION APPROXIMATELY 30 DEGREES TO THE NORTH OF THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY. APPROXIMATELY 125 FEET FURTHER IN THIS SAME DIRECTION THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED ANOTHER FENCE OF THE SAME CONSTRUCTED MATERIAL. THE AIRCRAFT WAS RIGHT WING LOW AT THIS CONTACT POINT, CAUSING THE OUTBOARD LEADING EDGE TO CONTACT THE FENCE AND SEPARATE FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THE OUTBOARD LEADING EDGE SKIN WAS PRESENT AT THE BASE OF THE FENCE DURING THIS INVESTIGATION. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED ACROSS COUNTY ROAD (CR) 391. THE RIGHT WING AND/OR THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR WERE MAKING CONTACT WITH THE ROAD AS THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED SETTLING TO THE GROUND. ON THE FAR SIDE OF CR391, WAS ANOTHER FENCE OF THE SAME CONSTRUCTION AS THE FIRST TWO, A BERM, CREATED FROM A DRAINAGE DITCH AND A WOODEN STRUCTURE WITH HEAVY CORRUGATED STEEL. THE AIRCRAFT LEFT MAIN GEAR APPEARED TO CONTACT THE BERM FIRST WITH ENOUGH IMPACT FORCE TO SPIN THE AIRCRAFT APPROXIMATELY 180 DEGREES. THE TAIL WHEEL APPEARED TO CONTACT THE GROUND WITH CONSIDERABLE FORCE DURING THE ROTATION OF THE AIRCRAFT CAUSING THE EMPENNAGE AND TAIL SECTION TO BUCKLE IN FRONT OF THE VERTICAL FIN LEADING EDGE. THE LEFT WING CAME IN CONTACT WITH THE WOODEN AND STEEL STRUCTURE DESTROYING THE OUTER 8-10 FEET OF THE AIRCRAFT LEFT WING. DAMAGES, OTHER THAN THOSE DESCRIBED, WERE THE PROPELLER AND LANDING GEAR. THERE WAS NO POST CRASH FIRE AND THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CEN12CA301](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12CA301), May 7, 2012: Air Tractor AT-502B (N5016P), El Campo, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to rotate early, the airplane’s subsequent inability to climb, and the pilot’s delayed decision to abort the takeoff.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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