AFSOC OA-1K Skyraider II Suffers Runway Incident During Early Training Sortie
An Air Force Special Operations Command OA-1K Skyraider II suffered a runway excursion during a training flight in Oklahoma, marking the platform's second safety incident within its initial training pipeline. Both crew members escaped uninjured.
An Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) OA-1K Skyraider II assigned to the 492nd Special Operations Wing experienced a runway excursion during a routine landing at Sundance Airport near Oklahoma City on Oct. 5. The aircraft, which took off from Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, veered off the centerline midway through its landing roll, damaging its propeller. Both crew members on board survived uninjured, and a safety investigation is underway to determine the cause of the mishap.
The incident occurs at a critical juncture for the OA-1K program, coming just days after the 492nd Special Operations Wing inaugurated its Formal Training Unit (FTU) for the first cadre of student aviators. Adapted from a commercial agricultural airframe, the OA-1K is designed to deliver low-cost light attack, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities in permissive, counter-insurgency environments. The platform is central to AFSOC’s effort to divest high-cost legacy assets in favor of tailored, highly sustainable systems for low-intensity operations.
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