Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 65-09620
The Army purchased this helicopter 0166
Total flight hours at this point: 00001969
Date: 11/27/1968
Incident number: 681127211ACD Accident case number: 681127211 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: 187 AHC
The station for this helicopter was Tay Ninh in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: XT510347 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PXT510347)
Number killed in accident = 5 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 1
costing 556954
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Army Aviation Safety Center database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
AC WO1 DUNEMAN ALLEN EUGENE KIA
P 1LT RITZAU AUGUST KARL KIA
G SP5 CREEL DAVID DE WITT KIA
CM SGT CHANDLER JEROME DEE KIA
CE SP4 FRAZER FREDRICK KIA
Accident Summary:
AFTER ARRIVING ON STATION WITH 26 FLARES ON BOARD, THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN AN ORBIT TO THE RIGHT AT APPROXIMATELY 2000 FEET ALTITUDE AND 60 KNOTS. FLARES WERE CALLED FOR AND THE DROPPING WAS INITIATED AT THIS TIME. AFTER ONE FLARE WAS DROPPED, A DISTRESS CALL WAS HEARD, TO THE EFFECT OF, "THIS IS 29, I HAVE A FLARE ON FIRE IN THE AIRCRAFT". THE PILOT OF THE DISTRESSED AIRCRAFT MADE ANOTHER CALL STATING, "HE COULD NOT READ HIS INSTRUMENTS, SOMEONE GIVE ME MY ALTITUDE". ALTITUDES WERE GIVEN AT 800 FEET AND 100 FEET. THE FLARE SHIP WAS DESCENDING AT A FAST RATE WITH A SLIGHT NOSE LOW ATTITUDE, NO YAWING OR ROLLING OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED DURING DESCENT. A BRIGHT GLOW WAS OBSERVED IN THE AIRCRAFT DURING DESCENT. AT APPROXIMATELY 500-800 FEET THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO ASSUME A LEVEL ATTITUDE MOMENTARILY, THEN AGAIN ASSUMED A LOW NOSE ATTITUDE AND WAS OBSERVED IN THIS ATTITUDE UNTIL DESCENDING INTO THE TREES ON A HEADING OF APPROXIMATELY 200 DEGREES. FIRST CONTACT WITH THE TREES WAS AT 50 FEET, CUTTING OFF A TREE THAT WAS APPROXIMATELY 9" IN DIAMETER WITH THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES. THIS CAUSED ABOUT 4' OF EACH BLADE TO BE CUT OFF, CAUSING IMMEDIATE SEVERE LATERAL VIBRATIONS AND THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN A SLIGHT TOLL TO THE RIGHT. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS, THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES STRUCK A LARGE TREE LEAVING A LARGE CUT IN THE TREE. THIS CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO MAKE A DEFINITE ROLL TO THE RIGHT; THROWING ^SP/5 CREEL^ OUT OF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT. IT IS BELIEVED THAT ^SP/5 CREEL^ HAD GOTTEN UP FROM HIS SEAT AND TRIED TO HELP ^SP/4 FRAZER^ GET THE FLARE OUT OF THE AIRCRAFT. A SHORT DISTANCE LATER, DOWN THE FLIGHT PATH, THE LEFT SKID CAUGHT ONTO THE TREES WHICH CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO YAW TO THE LEFT IN ADDITION TO THE RIGHT ROLL IT WAS ALREADY IN. IT IS JUST BEYOND THIS POINT WHERE THE AIRCRAFT MADE FIRST CONTACT WITH THE GROUND WITH THE MAIN ROTOR STRIKING THE GROUND FIRST, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY THE BODY OF THE AIRCRAFT AND THE TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION. AT THIS POINT THE MAIN ROTOR HUB AND BLADES SEPARATED FROM THE MAST, AND THE MAIN BODY OF THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED FORWARD DUE TO THE SPEED AND IMPACT AT WHICH IT HIT THE GROUND. DURING INITIAL IMPACT, THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION MOUNTS WERE BROKEN AND THE FORCE OF THE IMPACT CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO BE THRUST FORWARD OF THE MAIN WRECKAGE.\\
This record was last updated on 01/24/2003
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Date posted on this site:
11/13/2023
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War Story:
Everybody that I talked to who participated in the events of November 27, 1968 has their own version. Some are much more amazing than mine. Here's mine:
November 27, 1968. It was the day before Thanksgiving. On that day I flew 15 hours and 45 minutes. It was my first day being checked out as the
fire-team leader for the Rat Pack, our gun platoon for the 187th Assault Helicopter Company based in Tay Ninh, Vietnam.
As fire-team leader flying a C-model gunship, I lead our flight of nine slicks with troops on board into the landing zone. I was approximately a half a mile in front of the flight trailing smoke grenades to mark the flight's touchdown position. After my crew tossed the smokes, I made a hard break to the left to take up my racetrack position with the other two gun ships. We would provide suppressive fire during the flight's landing and debarking that would take place. I can't remember if the landing zone was prepped with artillery before I lead the flight in. Regardless, I was about a quarter mile in front of the flight out on my approach. I received no fire.
I turned the aircraft over to my co-pilot/AC Jimmy Souders to get prepared
for our first rocket run. I had only been in the gun platoon for a few
weeks and my attention was out my right door watching the flight and in
particular the last grouping of aircraft. It was the 1st platoon. I had
been their section leader then platoon leader for the last seven
months. We were all very close and, as a flight, moved like one. Bob
Trezona was the aircraft commander on the trail ship and I was watching him
in particular. He was training a new lieutenant, Tom Pienta, in formation
flight. They were not as close to the formation as I thought they should
have been. They were a little behind and in a vulnerable position.
As the flight was on short final, all hell broke loose. The LZ was hot
with automatic and machine gun fire. Just as my co-pilot was ready to nose
over and start his rocket run, the radios were alive with formation pilots
calling "receiving fire." It was from all directions. Approximately 100
feet off the ground, "trail" was hit with and RPG (rocket propelled
grenade) in the fuel cell. I saw the aircraft one second, and then
instantaneously I saw an orange ball of flame. They were completely
engulfed and falling out of the sky.
We had been looking for COSVIN headquarters for months and it appeared that
we had just landed right in the middle of it. Whether it was or wasn't, at
a minimum, is was a trap set up by a Chu Hoi.
Both pilots and gunner were recovered by my flight school partner, WO1 Ron
Timberlake. The CE Sp4 James Brady, was killed in the
explosion. Timberlake received the Silver Star for his heroism and was
shot down on the emergency rescue and take-off but landed in a field far
enough away from the action for others to complete the recovery
action. Trezona and Pienta's day was over; my day and the rest of the
flight crews had just begun.
For the rest of the day we continued to provide covering fire for
additional troop landings and suppressive fire for the troops already on
the ground. Late in the evening one of our ships was loaded with thirty
parachute flares to provide night illumination. Due to combat injuries,
the unit was short crews and the flare ship co-pilot, Lt August Ritzau just
returned to flight after being treated for shrapnel wound to the hand. As
I was taking off from refueling and rearming, I heard a desperation call
from the flareship. A flare had gone off at the bottom of the stack. At
two million candle power each, it is completely impossible to see or fly if
a flare is ignited inside the aircraft. The pilot WO1 Allen Duneman was
screaming over the radio for help...flight direction, altitude, air speed
or anything that could be of help. There was nothing anyone could do. I
remember someone talking to him, probably our CO Maj Gaffney. The other
flares started going off. I could see the glow, like a shooting star from
fifteen clicks away. They impacted at a 45 degree angle killing all
aboard. The radio silence afterward was almost surreal. Everyone was in
shock. Life as we knew it was sucked out of all of us that day.
By midnight, the beginning of Thanksgiving, I had gone through three
aircraft and two co-pilots. Virtually every ship in the unit was damaged
or flown beyond limits. Six crew members were killed many wounded. Our
company commander lost the effectiveness of his aviation unit. There were
only three aircraft certified flyable for the next day, not to mention crew
availability. Nobody said, but so many had that "thousand mile stare" the
next day that I know many were still in shock.
The infantry unit we inserted was decimated. They sustained 27 KIA and
over 50 wounded. All day we flew cover for our own aircraft providing
insertions and medical extractions as Medevac would not land to a hot LZ.
Maj Gaffney, Ron Timberlake and I with a few others (don't remember who)
took one of the remaining helicopters to fly to Saigon on Thanksgiving to
check on the two burned pilots and gunner. By the time I got there, their
swelling had already started. Each were three times or more their normal
size. Both pilots had 3rd degree burns over 50+% of their bodies. The
swelling was so severe that their throats were beginning to close. The
nurse didn't expect them to live though they both did, each tremendously
scarred both physically and emotionally.
Their unique story, written by Tom Pienta is available on the 187th website