An Air Force Accident Investigation Board has determined that pilot error caused the October 2025 crash of an OA-1K Skyraider II near Oklahoma City, the first major mishap for the type and the destruction of one of only 18 aircraft Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) had received.
The aircraft, from the 17th Special Operations Squadron at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, was declared a total loss valued at $17 million. Both crew members walked away uninjured.
The board’s report, released Friday, found that the student inadvertently turned the fuel shutoff valve clockwise at 2,300 feet above ground level while trying to adjust his helmet intercom volume, severing the engine’s fuel supply and causing power loss
The civilian instructor pilot took control, declared Mayday, and landed the aircraft in a field. A stop sign from the road came to rest in the wing.
Col. Joshua W. Petry, the board’s president, cited three factors beyond the valve error. Cockpit task saturation divided the student’s attention during the fuel system check. A communication failure left the instructor unaware the student had attempted to self-correct the valve.
Petry also faulted the instructor for bypassing emergency restart procedures, calling the choice “ineffective task prioritization.”
The student had 2,300 total flight hours in the U-28A reconnaissance aircraft but only 19 flights and 37 hours in the Skyraider II.
The crash comes as the OA-1K program faces a reduction from 75 to 53 aircraft per the Defense Department’s fiscal year 2027 budget request, with AFSOC having received only 18 airframes to date.
“Less than 75 is not desirable,” Lt. Col. Robert Wilson, AFSOC’s Armed Overwatch requirements branch chief, said during a May media briefing. “Any decrement below that is essentially a result of resource constraints and budget limitations.”
