Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C tail number 66-15151
The Army purchased this helicopter 0667
Total flight hours at this point: 00001449
Date: 01/11/1970
Incident number: 700111081ACD Accident case number: 700111081 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: 134 AHC
The station for this helicopter was Phu Hiep in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: BR657695 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 49PBR657695)
Number killed in accident = 1 . . Injured = 3 . . Passengers = 0
costing 269415
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 O3 BE PORTER
P W1 LM INGLE
CE SP4 HAMRICK EDWARD JOSEPH KIA
G E4 RD TIPPLE
Accident Summary:
ON 11 JANUARY 1970, HELICOPTER UH-1C, SN 66-15151, WAS ON STAND-BY AT LZ ENGLISH WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 61ST OPERATIONS, IN SUPPORT OF THE 173RD AIRBORNE BRIGADE. AT APPROXIMATELY 1415 HOURS THE AIRCRAFT WAS SCRAMBLED TO COVER A DUST-OFF PICK-UP IN THE VICINITY OF BR6471. THE AIRCRAFT PROCEEDED TO THE PICK-UP SIGHT, MAKING CONTACT WITH THE DUST-OFF 17 TO COORDINATE THE MISSION. DUST-OFF 17 ADVISED THAT THE WEATHER IN THE PICK-UP AREA WAS MARGINAL BUT HE WOULD TRY TO GET INTO THE AREA. UPON MAKING AN ATTEMPT INTO THE AREA, HE ADVISED DEVIL 6, CAPTAIN PORTER, AND HIS WINGMAN TO DO A 180 DEG TURN OUT OF THE AREA. DUST-OFF 17 ADVISED DEVIL 6 TO EVALUATE THE CAPABILITIES OF HIS AIRCRAFT AND THAT THE MISSION WAS NOT AS URGENT AS IT HAD SEEMED AND THAT THE WEATHER WAS GETTING WORSE IN THE PICK-UP AREA. AFTER CONSIDERING THE SITUATION, DEVIL 6 AND DUST-OFF 17 DECIDED TO TRY AGAIN. THIS TIME DEVIL 6 WAS TO TRY TO GO OVER THE RIDGE LINE FIRST. AT THIS TIME THE TRAIL GUNSHIP SUGGESTED A POSSIBLE ALTERNATE ROUTE INTO THE AREA. DEVIL 6 DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND TRY THE RIDGE LINE AGAIN. DEVIL 6 MADE HIS APPROACH AT A HIGH AIRSPEED, TRYING TO MAKE IT OVER THE RIDGE LINE BEFORE THE WEATHER CLOSED IN. DEVIL 6 WENT IFR UPON REACHING THE RIDGE LINE, AT APPROXIMATELY 1445 HOURS. HE ATTEMPTED TO CLIMB OUT OF THE WEATHER AND CONTACT PHU CAT AIR FORCE BASE, LOCATED 33 KILOMETERS TO THE SOUTHEAST OF THE PICK-UP AREA FOR A GCA. AT APPROXIMATELY 1448 HOURS, THE TRAIL GUNSHIP TRIED TO CONTACT CAPTAIN PORTER ON FM, VHF, AND UHF RADIOS WITH NEGATIVE RESULTS. HE THEN CALLED THE SUPPORT UNIT AT LZ ENGLISH AND ADVISED THEM OF DEVIL 6'S SITUATION. IT WAS ASSUMED THAT CAPTAIN PORTER AND HIS CREW HAD CRASHED. AT APPROXIMATELY 1600 HOURS, A SEARCH AND RESCUE WAS INITIATED FOR THE CREW AND AIRCRAFT WHICH LASTED FOR TWO DAYS UNTIL THE AFTERNOON OF THE 14TH. THREE MEMBERS OF THE CREW WERE FOUND AT BR678708 AND THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS FOUND AT BR657695.\\
War Story:
http://www.134thahc.com/Vietnam/151_crash.htm
This record was last updated on 12/01/2008
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 panel date index
Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association