Air Force
Pilot shut off fuel supply by mistake in 2025 Skyraider II crash, Air Force investigation board says
Stars and Stripes
June 27, 2026
A view of the damaged propeller of an OA-1K Skyraider II that crashed in October 2025 in Oklahoma City. (Air Force Accident Investigation Board)
A forced landing of an OA-1K Skyraider II in October 2025 in Oklahoma was caused by pilot error, according to an Accident Investigation Board report released this week.
The pilot mistakenly turned off the fuel supply at “2,300 feet above ground level,” according to the report.
On Oct. 23, 2025, two crew members — an active-duty airman and a civilian contractor serving as the instructor pilot — were on a training mission when the aircraft made a forced landing after calling Mayday. There were no injuries, the Air Force said.
The “pilot’s unintended activation of the fuel shutoff valve caused the mishap,” the report said. Shutting off the valve “isolated the fuel supply from the aircraft firewall, starving the engine of fuel in flight.”
The board also noted three other contributing factors, including communication failures.
The aircraft and crew were assigned to the 492nd Special Operations Wing and operated by the 17th Special Operations Squadron out of Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, Okla., the home of the 137th Special Operations Wing.
Civilian property damage included two utility poles, three road signs and a barbed-wire fence, the report said. The damage to the aircraft was valued at $17.9 million.
The Skyraider II is a crop-duster style aircraft modified to perform armed overwatch and intelligence gathering for special operators.
The first mission-ready Skyraider II was delivered in April 2025 to Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Fla. There are 18 mission-ready aircraft as of late May.
The Skyraider II’s distinctive tailwheel feature has required test evaluators to devise a new methodology to verify its performance. This specifically required extra pilot training with the Skyraider II’s civilian variant, the AT-802, to learn to fly the tailwheel aircraft effectively.
Officials expect that the Skyraider II will be able to replace two aging Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft — the U-28 Draco and MC-12 manned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance planes, which are expected to be retired by the end of the decade.