On August 2, 1989, a Schweizer G-164B (registration N7501Q) operated by Riceland Flying Service was involved in an aviation accident near Austwell, TX. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: PILOT'S SELECTION OF AN UNSUITABLE LANDING AREA (TERRAIN). HIGH VEGETATION AND ROUGH TERRAIN WERE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
During a repositioning flight for cotton work, an aircraft landed on a road and then moved to another road. On landing, the spray boom under the left wing caught tall grass, causing the aircraft to veer off the road and come to rest on its nose.
Accident Details
A pilot was ferrying an aircraft to a location for 'cotton work' and landed on a road that he had used before. The customer requested that he use another road, which the pilot was also familiar with, so he flew the aircraft to that location.
During the landing on the second road, the spray boom located under the left wing caught the tall grass on the left side of the roadway. This caused the aircraft to veer off the left side of the road and enter an adjacent field, where it came to rest on its nose.
At the time of the accident, there was no chemical load aboard the aircraft.