Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to attain the proper touchdown point, which resulted in a landing undershoot.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot was returning from the completion of his 28th aerial application flight on the day of the accident. He stated that he misjudged the touchdown point for the landing and landed short of the dirt runway, striking a levee. He said that he had been working a full schedule all week and there was no doubt that he was “somewhat” tired, but he believed that a wind change “had more to do with the accident than any other factor.”
Source record
Factual narrative
On May 19, 2012, at 1600 central daylight time, an Air Tractor Inc AT-602, N85239, impacted terrain during landing when the airplane touched down short of runway 36 at a private airstrip near Humnoke, Arkansas. The pilot stated that he misjudged the touchdown point. The certificated commercial pilot was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The airplane was registered to and operated by County Line Flying Service Inc under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan had not been filed for the local flight that originated from the private airstrip about 1553. The pilot stated that he had been working a full schedule all week and there was no doubt that he was somewhat tired. On the day of the accident, he started working about 0630, and the takeoff before the accident was his 28th load. He said that the wind change probably had more to do with the accident than any other factor. He said that he misjudged the touchdown point and landed short of runway 36 (2,600 feet by 60 feet, dry dirt).