Helicopter AH-1G 67-15778


Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 67-15778
The Army purchased this helicopter 1068
Total flight hours at this point: 00000200
Date: 05/18/1969
Incident number: 69051888.KIA
Unit: B/4 AVN 4 INF
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was an Unknown mission
While Enroute this helicopter was Unknown at UNK feet and UNK knots.
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: AR780360 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 49PAR780360)
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
The helicopter was hit in the Cockpit
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 01 KIA, 01 DOI . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Burned
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: OPERA, LNOF, 90252, CRAFX, CASRP (Operations Report. Lindenmuth Old Format Data Base. Crash Facts Message. Casualty Report. )
Loss to Inventory

Crew Members:
P CW2 BECK GREGORY GEORGE KIA
CE SP5 COFER JAMES TERRELL KIA


War Story:
Although the report lists accident caused by weather, the "official" record was KIA hostile action. As ADAVNO this was the official report that I made to MACV. From COL W.E. Hodgson (Ret) July 2006.

I was stationed on Enari at the time of this crash and I vividly remember it. Rainy season had just begun, not really in full force but a bad night. I was in 4th Div. Band and had been on duty, Chg of Quarters that night and Sgt. of Guard or something the night before or maybe two days earlier. The band had been out on a patrol about a week earlier. That was a LOT of activity for us in such a short period of elapsed time. Hadn't been attacked in a long time then a bunch of rockets. Lots of illumination rounds in the air. I tried to get some photos of the flares but nothing came out. I was on Enari and was standing outside and actually saw the fireball of the crash. Ironically one of the guys who is now one of the big cheeses at the PO I work in was on Dragon Mtn that same night. He was First Sgt of either an Arty or Radar outfit on the mtn. When daylight came we, a squad from the band, were sent out with... I think graves reg. to act as their guards... anyway we went part way up the mtn. Had heard there were land mines from the French days and was very worried when we left the road on foot as we had no idea where the mines might have been. I was real short and things were getting WAY to exciting. It seemed to me the pilot may have aborted his first approach because if I remember correctly the same aircraft went S or SW down our Western bunker line maybe a 1/2 outside the wire at 600 to 1000 ft and then came back, maybe circling around when the crash happened. It seemed like he got lost and just ran into the side of the mtn. Left a good size blackened area. I sort of wondered, considering that there was little wreckage left, if any remains were ever recovered. The aircraft was just burned bits and pieces. From: Bill Lathan

This record was last updated on 05/29/2007


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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023


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