Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1M tail number 66-00726
The Army purchased this helicopter 0167
Total flight hours at this point: 00000293
Date: 01/02/1970
Incident number: 700102041ACD Accident case number: 700102041 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: D/227 AVN
The station for this helicopter was Bien Hoa in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: WQ366985 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PWQ366985)
Number killed in accident = 4 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 0
costing 459358
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 1LT CARMICHAEL ROBERT EDWARD KIA
P WO1 DEBNER DENNIS ERWIN KIA
PP LTC KVERNES ROGER WENDELL KIA
CE SFC SPIVEY EDDIE LEE KIA
Accident Summary:
Aircraft entered a gun run from approximately 1,000 feet. Wing man stated the aircraft leveled off at 300 feet then flew into the ground at high speed. The aircraft exploded, burned and was destroyed.
This record was last updated on 09/22/2010
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Date posted on this site:
11/13/2023
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War Story:
The late night test mission involved the UH1M accident aircraft plus a
UH1H and AH1G aircraft from the 235th AWC based at Can Tho. My Cobra
(call sign Satan 12) provided weapons support while the UH1H was flown
by our unit maintenance officer. The test flight was conducted over
the U Minh forest in the southernmost portion of South Vietnam. I was
not briefed on any details concerning the test, just that the aircraft
had the ability to fly low level at night. I don't recall the weather
being a factor for the mission. The AH1G was flying a wide orbit at
2500' while the UH1H was orbiting at a lower altitude and in radio
contact with the test aircraft. The infant ship was at low level and
blacked out. While orbiting I observed a splash of light from the
surface and saw flames burning. After a short while the UH1H
announced that the UH1M had crashed. We provided gunship support while
the Huey descended to observe the crash site using his lights. He
observed the wreckage and determined that it appeared to be
completely destroyed. We did our best to determine our exact location
and eventually returned to base.
From: George Caldwell