Helicopter UH-1C 66-00674


Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C tail number 66-00674
The Army purchased this helicopter 1166
Total flight hours at this point: 00001190
Date: 11/03/1969
Incident number: 691103291ACD Accident case number: 691103291 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: B/25 AVN 25 INF
This was a Accident incident.
The station for this helicopter was Cu Chi in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: XT565218 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PXT565218)
Number killed in accident = 2 . . Injured = 2 . . Passengers = 0
costing 322399
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 O2 BP VARGAS
P WO1 LEACH KENNETH RAYMOND KIA
CE SSG WILLIAMS GAYLE EDWARD KIA
G E4 ED HANSEN


Accident Summary:

 AIRCRAFT WAS ENROUTE TO CU CHI AFTER AN EXTRACTION. DIAMONDHEAD 10, THE FIRE TEAM LEADER, WAS THE LEAD SHIP OF TWO GUNSHIPS AND ONE TROOPS SHIP. AT FIRE SUPPORT BASE HUNTER, THE FLIGHT BEGAN FLYING LOW LEVEL. BETWEEN FIRE SUPPORT BASE PERSHING AND CU CHI BASE CAMP, DIAMONDHEAD 10'S WINGMAN MADE A CALL ASKING THE LEAD AIRCRAFT TO SLOW UP AS HE WAS FLYING AT 90 KNOTS AND COULD NOT MAINTAIN PROPER SEPARATION. THE LEAD AIRCRAFT THEN WENT INTO A CLIMB TO AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 500 FEET. IT THEN NOSED OVER INTO AN EXTREMELY STEEP DIVE TOWARDS THE GROUND. THE WINGMAN STATES THAT THE AIRCRAFT NEVER PULLED OUT OF THE DIVE, BUT ANOTHER WITNESS STATES AT THE BOTTOM IT APPEARED TO LEVEL OFF. SKID MARKS PRESENT WHERE INITIAL CONTACT WAS MADE INDICATE THAT THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND WITH WHAT APPEARED TO BE A TREMENDOUS FORWARD GROUND SPEED. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO CARRY ALONG THE GROUND ALMOST 200 METERS FROM THE POINT OF INITIAL CONTACT. THE AIRCRAFT DISINTEGRATED AS IT CONTINUED IN ITS FORWARD PATH ALONG THE AXIS OF TRAVEL.\\

This record was last updated on 05/25/1998


This information is available on CD-ROM.

Additional information is available on KIAs at http://www.coffeltdatabase.org

Please send additions or corrections to: The VHPA Webmaster Gary Roush.

KIA statistics

Return to the KIA name list

Return to the KIA panel date index

Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023


Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association