Accident Details
On 7 May 2002, at approximately 12:00 local time, a Piper PA-25-235 (registration EC-BGD) was performing agricultural rice seeding operations from a temporary airstrip near Almoharín, Cáceres province. The airstrip ran northeast-southwest. The pilot, a 30-year-old commercial pilot with 3,500 total flight hours, had begun operations at about 07:30. This was the 17th flight of the day. The aircraft was loaded with 250 kg of rice seed and approximately 80 kg of fuel—more than necessary for the seeding—as the pilot intended to finish the field and then reposition to another strip without landing.
During the takeoff roll in a northeast direction, as the aircraft neared rotation speed, it abruptly veered left. The aircraft departed the airstrip, then nosed over and came to rest inverted. A fire broke out in the engine area and quickly spread, engulfing the aircraft. The pilot sustained second-degree burns but managed to exit the aircraft unassisted. The aircraft was completely destroyed by fire.
Aircraft Information
The Piper PA-25-235, built in 1966, is a single-engine low-wing aircraft. It was equipped with a Lycoming O-540-G1A5 engine. The fuel tank is located in the nose, behind the firewall and ahead of the chemical hopper. This configuration makes the aircraft more susceptible to post-impact fires due to proximity of spilled fuel to hot engine components.
Airstrip Conditions
The temporary airstrip was 6 meters wide, consisting of a livestock path bordered by cereal fields. Two-meter-wide "safety strips" had been created by flattening the adjacent cereal, giving a total usable width of 10 meters. However, the lateral slope changed sharply at the transition from the path to the field. The aircraft's wingspan of 11 meters exceeded the 10-meter width of the strip plus safety strips, so both wing tips extended beyond the cleared area.
Investigation
No evidence was found of a tire blowout, landing gear failure, or any other mechanical malfunction that could explain the abrupt left turn. The investigation concluded that the most probable cause was a wind variation that produced two effects: a directional-longitudinal imbalance causing the aircraft to deviate from the airstrip axis, and a slight roll that raised the right wing and lowered the left. The left wing tip then caught the cereal, generating a torque that resulted in the sharp left turn and subsequent ground loop.