Rockwell OV-10D accident near Larandia, CO, February 6, 2000
On February 6, 2000 at about 2:05 pm local time, a Rockwell OV-10D, registered N474AW, was destroyed in an accident near Larandia (Larandia Army Base airport). It was a public-use flight under public-use (government) rules. 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of power in the right engine due to undetermined reasons and the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane. Factors in this accident were; the pilot did not perform a weight and balance calculation, (airplane overweight at takeoff); the pilot's failure to follow the emergency checklist, and not jettisoning the external load.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 6, 2000 · about 2:05 pm local time
- Place
- Larandia, CO · Larandia Army Base
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Rockwell OV-10D · all OV-10Ds on the register
- Registration
- N474AW · registry record · serial 155488
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Public-use flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On the first mission, the pilot was forced to return to base, because the right engine chip detector light came on during the spray run. Maintenance personnel checked the airplane, and after the maintenance was performed it was revealed that the chip detector was found to have some fuzz on the probe. The engine was run, all checks of the engine were normal, and the aircraft was placed back into service. Just after takeoff, on the second mission, the pilot of N474AW reported to the pilot of the lead aircraft, that he was having problems, that he had lost power on No. 2 engine (right), that he could not maintain altitude and said, "it's going in with me." The lead pilot saw him eject from the aircraft, witnessed the fireball as the aircraft impacted in rising terrain, and saw the parachute open, but no seat separation. The pilot of N474AW said, "...the first indication that [he] got was that I felt the airplane start to yaw a little bit...[the] right engine was starting to spool down...[he] reached up and hit the hydraulic dump, to dump the [internal] load." He did not dump the external wing tanks, as is called for in the emergency engine failure checklist. He said "...[he] could [not] get the prop to feather...it was still slowly dying and it wasn't just a catastrophic failure...it was just like it was a slow dying process...and the airplane wouldn't climb...and the prop still wasn't in the feather...I was still flying into what I believed to be rising terrain I couldn't gain any altitude...I determined that I wasn't going to make it, that the airplane was going to wind up in [a] ditch. The pilot described checks he performed on the right engine, but did not mention anything about adding power to the left engine, as called for in item number one of the emergency engine failure check list. The pilot then elected to eject from the airplane. The maximum gross weight for the accident aircraft was 15,000 pounds. On the accident flight the calculated gross weight was 15,500 pounds. After dumping the internal load the calculated weight at impact was 13,056 pounds. According to item # 3, of the engine failure checklist, "External stores and Hooper load...JETTISON, AS REQUIRED." The external load was not jettisoned. Teardown and examinations of both engines and both propellers did not reveal any discrepancies. The calculated density altitude (DA) at the time of the accident was 2,540 feet. A simulated flight in an OV-10D was conducted, in an attempt to duplicate the accident flight. In the opinion of the two pilots that performed the tests, "...It is very possible...an OV-10 configured similarly as [the test airplane]...could perform safely and accomplish a climb if appropriate emergency procedures [as] outlined in [the] OV-10...Pilot's Pocket Checklist are employed...if the same procedures are followed in the checklist...regarding jettison of 'external stores and hopper load, drag index would be reduced to 50. With reduced drag index, performance would exponentially increase."
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 106 in this make and model; 48 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 9,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,122 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 30, 2000; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 15,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett T76-420/421 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Runway 35, 5,200 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 180°F (82°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA00GA083.