Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D tail number 66-01207
The Army purchased this helicopter 0267
Total flight hours at this point: 00001060
Date: 03/12/1970
Incident number: 700312211ACD Accident case number: 700312211 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: 128 AHC
The station for this helicopter was Nui dat in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YS425781 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PYS425781)
Number killed in accident = 13 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 10
costing 860945
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 CUNNINGHAM LEONARD DWIGHT KIA
P WO1 DANDURAND JAY THOMAS KIA
CE SP4 MCNICOL GARY DOUGLAS KIA
G SP4 CUMMINGS CHARLES HENRY KIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
PFC CAFIERO LESTER VINCENT JR, AR, PAX, KIA
PFC DARR AARON LEE, AR, PAX, KIA
SGT GARCIA JOSE OSCAR, AR, PAX, KIA
CPL GUENTHER TERRY ELMER, AR, PAX, KIA
PFC HAMPTON WALTER JAMES, AR, PAX, KIA
SGT HOLMES EDWARD WAYNE, AR, PAX, KIA
PFC LEONARD OLIN JENNES, AR, PAX, KIA
SP4 SHATTUCK RONNY DEAN, AR, PAX, KIA
SP4 THOMPSON VENEY EWELL, AR, PAX, KIA
Accident Summary:
AT THIRTEEN HUNDRED HOURS, ON 12 MARCH 1970, U.S. ARMY HELICOPTER 66-1207 DEPARTED PHU LOI AIRFIELD AS CHALK FOUR IN A FLIGHT OF FOUR UH-1'S WITH A DESTINATION OF A PICKUP ZONE AT YS 3880. THE PRIMARY MISSION WAS TO PARTICIPATE IN A TACTICAL EXTRACTION OF SIXTY-SEVEN U.S. ARMY INFANTRY TROOPS, AND RETURN THEM TO FSB RHODE ISLAND, IN SUPPORT OF THE 25TH INFANTRY DIVISION. THE FLIGHT TO THE PICKUP ZONE WAS UNEVENTFUL. UPON RECEIVING THE REQUIRED INFORMATION FROM THE AIR MISSION COMMANDER THE FLIGHT LEADER PROCEEDED TOWARD THE PZ. AT THIS TIME THE AMC TOLD THE FLIGHT LEADER TO BE PREPARED TO CARRY EIGHT TO TEN GROUND TROOPS ON EACH OF HIS FOUR AIRCRAFT IN ORDER TO SAVE AN EXTRA TURN AROUND. THE GROUND TROOPS HAD BEEN LINED UP, SEVEN MEN PER AIRCRAFT AND HAD TO SHIFT THEIR PERSONNEL ON THE GROUND IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH AMC'S INSTRUCTIONS. THE PICKUP ZONE WAS LARGE AND NO PROBLEMS WERE ENCOUNTERED ON THE TAKEOFF BY THE AIRCRAFT IN THE FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT PROCEEDED SOUTHEAST TOWARD THE LANDING ZONE AND CLIMBED TO AN ALTITUDE OF TWO HUNDRED FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. AFTER BEING AIRBORNE APPROXIMATELY THREE MINUTES, AND IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, YS 4077, THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER OF THE CHALK FOUR AIRCRAFT U.S. ARMY HELICOPTER SERIAL NUMBER 66-1207, WAS HEARD TO SAY OVER THE UHF RADIO "27 HAS AN ENGINE FAILURE" PAUSE "GOING DOWN IN THE TREES". IN AN ATTEMPT TO PREPARE FOR IMPACT WITH THE TREES WO1 CUNNINGHAM INITIATED A SEVERE DECELERATION (AT THIS POINT THE TAILBOOM HIT A 10 INCH DIAMETER TREE BREAKING IT AND CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO PIVOT ON THE POINT OF CONTACT). AS A RESULT OF THE DECELERATION MANEUVER AND CONTACT WITH THE TREE THE AIR SPEED WAS NEAR ZERO BUT THE PIVOTING ACTION CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO ENTER THE TREES IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE. UPON IMPACT WITH THE TREES AN INITIAL EXPLOSION OCCURRED AND A FIRE ENSUED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SEEN FALLING (NEARLY VERTICALLY) TO THE GROUND IN A BALL OF FLAMES. NUMEROUS SMALLER EXPLOSIONS WERE SEEN ONCE THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ON THE GROUND. APPROXIMATELY TWO TO THREE MINUTES AFTER THE AIRCRAFT HIT THE GROUND A TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION OCCURRED, SENDING DEBRIS FROM THE BURNING WRECKAGE SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET IN THE AIR SPREADING THE WRECKAGE OVER A 375 METER DIAMETER CIRCLE.\\
This record was last updated on 11/11/2008
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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