Narrative:

Approximately 10 miles northwest of airport; I called portland control 119.0 (CTAF) announcing my intentions to land. No response was received on any of my calls. I continued to enter the traffic pattern for a left downwind to land on runway 08. Pdx is located in a class C airspace with a special cutout for vuo. Close attention is required for entry into the traffic pattern at vuo. Pdx ground control 119.0 is the CTAF for vuo.portland (pdx) traffic was landing on runway 10. Extended centerlines for both airport runways intersect west of the airport and it is imperative to keep a tight pattern to land vuo runway 08. I did not observe any traffic on final to pdx as I turn base leg. I was high as I turned final and proceeded to increase my descent to intercept a normal approach path. About 300 feet AGL; I noticed a vehicle about mid-field on the very north edge of the runway. I had made all radio calls in the pattern (downwind; base; and final approach). The vehicle made no effort to exit the runway environment. At this point I elected to go-around and announced my intentions. Still; at this point; I had received no response from anyone on 119.0.I executed another VFR pattern and the vehicle (large commercial lawn mower) still did not clear the runway but had proceeded further east. I elected to land due to other airports were marginal VFR and I needed fuel. I had no problem stopping before I exited the runway 2/3 of the way down the runway. The mower was at that intersection and still did not see me and clear the area. I discussed the situation with the FBO clerk and he gave me the number of the airport manager. Manager was out for the day. The airport assistant manager happened to be in the FBO and told me the mowing operation was handled by the washington state aviation division of the department of transportation (wsdot). This is the state agency that advocates for aviation safety and one of theirs is operating a vehicle without a radio? Hmmmm!shortly after I arrived at the airport; an aircraft landed after me. That pilot also stated no one answered him on 119.0. This airport has special problems for general aviation with respect to its proximity to portland international airport. The safety factor gets worse during low ceiling weather and landings on runway 08. I have a lot of experience and cannot believe someone is operating a mower that close to the runway and not monitoring the landing frequency.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The pilot of a small aircraft reported that when landing at VUO he observed a mower encroaching on the runway and was unable to establish radio contact with anyone on the field.

Narrative: Approximately 10 miles NW of airport; I called Portland control 119.0 (CTAF) announcing my intentions to land. No response was received on any of my calls. I continued to enter the traffic pattern for a left downwind to land on runway 08. PDX is located in a Class C airspace with a special cutout for VUO. Close attention is required for entry into the traffic pattern at VUO. PDX Ground Control 119.0 is the CTAF for VUO.Portland (PDX) traffic was landing on runway 10. Extended centerlines for both airport runways intersect west of the airport and it is imperative to keep a tight pattern to land VUO runway 08. I did not observe any traffic on final to PDX as I turn base leg. I was high as I turned final and proceeded to increase my descent to intercept a normal approach path. About 300 feet AGL; I noticed a vehicle about mid-field on the very north edge of the runway. I had made all radio calls in the pattern (downwind; base; and final approach). The vehicle made no effort to exit the runway environment. At this point I elected to go-around and announced my intentions. Still; at this point; I had received no response from anyone on 119.0.I executed another VFR pattern and the vehicle (large commercial lawn mower) still did not clear the runway but had proceeded further east. I elected to land due to other airports were marginal VFR and I needed fuel. I had no problem stopping before I exited the runway 2/3 of the way down the runway. The mower was at that intersection and still did not see me and clear the area. I discussed the situation with the FBO clerk and he gave me the number of the airport manager. Manager was out for the day. The airport assistant manager happened to be in the FBO and told me the mowing operation was handled by the Washington State Aviation Division of the Department of Transportation (WSDOT). This is the state agency that advocates for aviation safety and one of theirs is operating a vehicle without a radio? Hmmmm!Shortly after I arrived at the airport; an aircraft landed after me. That pilot also stated no one answered him on 119.0. This airport has special problems for general aviation with respect to its proximity to Portland International Airport. The safety factor gets worse during low ceiling weather and landings on runway 08. I have a lot of experience and cannot believe someone is operating a mower that close to the runway and not monitoring the landing frequency.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.