# Accident 19970610013759A: Rkwell OV10A, Hollister, CA, June 10, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 10, 1997, 09:38 local time
- Place: Hollister, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Unauth Low Level Opns
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.8902° N, 121.2409° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.8902&lon=-121.2409&mi=10
- Aircraft: N94LM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N94LM-1998-11-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: North American OV-10A (registry code 6402512, https://openairdocs.org/model/north-american-ov-10a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: RKWELL OV10A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 10,063 total, 21 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX97GA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97GA205) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970610013759A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

CRASHED IN OPEN FIELD, CRASHED AND BURNED.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (.4) PRIOR TO JOINING THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT AS AN OV-10 PILOT, THE PILOT FLEW HELICOPTERS FOR THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE AND WAS BASED AT THE FIRE STATION WHERE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. WITNESSES AT THE STATION REPORTED SEEING THE AIRCRAFT FLY BY THEIR LOCATION AT APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET AGL AND ENTER A RIGHT ROLL TO A NEAR INVERTED ATTITUDE.  IT THEN WAS OBSERVED TO REVERSE THE DIRECTION OF ROLL IN WHAT APPEARED TO BE AN ATTEMPT BY THE PILOT TO LEVEL THE WINGS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THEN OBSERVED TO IMPACT THE GROUND IN A 90-DEGREE RIGHT BANK WITH APPROXIMATELY A 30-DEGREE NOSE DOWN PITCH ATTITUDE.  THE WITNESSES FURTHER STATED THAT BOTH ENGINES SOUNDED NORMAL AS THE AIRCRAFT PASSED THEIR LOCATION. HEAVY ROTATIONAL DAMAGE WAS NOTED TO BOTH ENGINES AND PROPELLERS.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX97GA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX97GA205), Jun 10, 1997: Rockwell OV-10A (N94LM), Hollister, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain adequate ground clearance altitude while performing a low-level aerobatic maneuver. A factor in the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the aircraft.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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