Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D tail number 66-00968
The Army purchased this helicopter 1166
Total flight hours at this point: 00001913
Date: 01/02/1969
Incident number: 690102161ACD Accident case number: 690102161 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: 116 AHC
The station for this helicopter was Cu Chi in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: XT511254 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PXT511254)
Number killed in accident = 6 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 4
costing 550104
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 BOLHOUSE DEAN FRANKLIN KIA
CE SP5 MORGAN MELVIN DAVID JR KIA
PP WO1 JANTZ ROBERT WAYNE KIA
PP WO1 SELLNER CHARLES EDWARD KIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
SP4 WILLIAMS WILLEY EDGAR JR, AR, PX, KIA
PFC PLEASANT MURPHY JR, AR, PX, KIA
Accident Summary:
THE AIRCRAFT A MAINTENANCE SHIP WAS RETURNING FROM ^DAU TIENG TO CU CHI^ AFTER PICKING UP EQUIPMENT AND PASSENGERS. THE AIRCRAFT, PILOTED BY ^WO BOLHOUSE^, WAS FLYING IN A SOUTHERLY DIRECTION, AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 1,000 FEET, AS IT PASSED OVER FIRE SUPPORT BASE ^PERSHING^ AT XT 515256. ASTHE HELICOPTER REACHED A POSITION ABOUT 700 METERS SOUTHEAST OF THE FIRE SUPPORT BASE, A LOUD POPPING NOISE WAS HEARD AND SOMETHING APPEARED TO FALL FROM THE AIRCRAFT. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS THE HELICOPTER WENT INTO A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE AND STARTED A TURN TO THE RIGHT WHICH TIGHTENED INTO A SPIN. STATEMENT NUMBER 7 INDICATES THAT THE SPIN WAS COUNTER-CLOCKWISE IN DIRECTION. HOWEVER, THERE ARE SEVERAL STATEMENTS INDICATING A RIGHT HAND SPIN AND THE BOARD FEELS THAT THE PORTION OF STATEMENT 7 THAT INDICATES A COUNTER-CLOCKWISE SPIN IS IN DOUBT. STATEMENTS 9 AND 10 INDICATE THAT THE AIRCRAFT STARTED A DIVE AFTER THE POPPING NOISE WAS HEARD. HOWEVER, STATEMENTS 1, 7, AND 11 ALL STATE THAT THE HELICOPTER EITHER STOPPED, CLIMBED, OR WAS IN A NOSE HIGH, ZERO AIRSPEED ATTITUDE. IT IS FELT THAT THE PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT THE HELICOPTER WAS IN A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO ITS SPIN. IT APPEARED THAT THE MAIN ROTOR SLOWED ITS ROTATION DURING THIS SPIN AND THAT VARIOUS ITEMS OF EQUIPMENT WERE BEING FLUNG FROM THE AIRCRAFT. AS THE AIRCRAFT WAS IN A VERTICAL SPIN, IT IMPACTED ALMOST STRAIGHT DOWN, STRIKING ON ITS RIGHT SIDE. UPON INITIAL IMPACT THE AIRCRAFT EITHER BOUNCED OR ROLLED TO THE RIGHT, COMING TO REST ON ITS LEFT SIDE FACING NORTH. THE TAIL BOOM SEPARATED FROM THE BODY OF THE AIRCRAFT. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THIS THE MAIN ROTOR AND HEAD SEPARATED FROM THE MAST AND CAME TO REST BETWEEN THE TAIL BOOM AND MAIN BODY. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE MAIN BODY AND TAIL BOOM IS ESTIMATED AT NOT MORE THAN 20 FEET. DUE TO THE FORCE OF THE IMPACT VARIOUS PIECES OF THE AIRCRAFT WERE SCATTERED OVER A LARGE AREA. THE AIRCRAFT BURNED IMMEDIATELY UPON IMPACT. DURING THE EMERGENCY SITUATION, ^WO BOLHOUSE^ TWICE TRANSMITTED TO ANOTHER SHIP OF HIS UNIT THAT WAS FLYING IMMEDIATELY AHEAD OF HIM. HE UTILIZED HIS CALL SIGN AND THE PERSONAL CALL SIGN OF THE OTHER PILOT'S SHIP, FAILED TO SEND A MESSAGE WHEN ANSWERED.\\
This record was last updated on 09/20/1998
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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