Mojave OV-1D Mohawk #68-15948 1/31/13
Read MoreOn 11/15/82 the Grumman OV-1D Mohawk #68-15948 was undergoing dynamic and static spin testing to determine what effect the SLAR boom had on the aircraft. While conducting static VMC testing at 6,400 feet MSL (4,000 feet AGL) the pilot called the VMC point at 78 KIAS and announced initiation of recovery. The aircraft rolled left slightly past 90 degrees and entered a nose low spin from which it did not recover, impacting the desert floor at a descent rate of 17,500 feet per minute. The civilian flight engineer John D. Ottomeyer attempted an unsuccessful ejection at 500 feet AGL, the test pilot CWO Hugh A. Lammons remained in the aircraft until impact. Both men were killed in the accident.