North American OV-10A accident near Porterville, CA
On September 6, 2006, a North American OV-10A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Porterville, CA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 6, 2006
- Place
- Porterville, CA
- Aircraft
- North American OV-10A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 36.232°N, 118.685°W
- NTSB ID
- 20060916X01351
Official records · LAX06GA287
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 6, 2006, about 1039 Pacific daylight time, a North American Aviation, Inc., OV-10A, N419DF, (call sign "Air Attack 410") impacted trees and rising mountainous terrain while maneuvering about 25 statute miles northeast of the Porterville Municipal Airport, Porterville, California. The accident occurred in the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest (MHSF). The United States Forest Service and the State of California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CDF) owned the airplane, which was operated by CDF during the public-use flight. The airplane was destroyed during the impact sequence and post impact ground fire. The two occupants, an airline transport certificated pilot and an observer-crewmember, were fatally injured. No one on the ground was injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. CDF management reported that the flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, and it was dispatched in accordance with the department's flight following procedures. The accident flight commenced from Porterville at 1025. On the day of the accident and during several preceding days, three fires existed near the MHSF. The CDF's airborne mission involved using air attack (reconnaissance) airplanes and air tankers (fire retardant droppers) to address the fires. Air Attack 410's mission was to provide tactical coordination and communication with the incident commander (IC) on the ground. The information that the crew gathered was related to evaluating the status of the previously observed fires, and identifying the onset of new fires i
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to maintain adequate terrain clearance while maneuvering over rising terrain in a box canyon. Also causal was the pilot's failure to adhere to procedures/directives regarding minimum altitude requirements.
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Browse: California · North American aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
