Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 68-15065
The Army purchased this helicopter 0269
Total flight hours at this point: 00000915
Date: 12/27/1969
Incident number: 691227101ACD Accident case number: 691227101 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: C/3/17 CAV
The station for this helicopter was Di An in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: XT821109 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PXT821109)
Number killed in accident = 2 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 2
costing 556941
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 (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
P WO1 EARL MICHAEL RANDALL KIA
TO SSG STOTSBERY RICHARD PAUL KIA
Accident Summary:
THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED SABRE HELIPORT, DI AN, BASE CAMP AT 1420 HOURS ON A PERIODIC INSPECTION TEST FLIGHT. THE TEST FLIGHT CHECK SHEET SHOWS THAT THE CREW HAD COMPLETED THE ENGINE VIBRATION TEST AND HAD CHECKED ALL OF THE ITEMS ON THE TEST FLIGHT CHECK SHEET EXCEPT THE DIVING MANEUVERS AND THE HIGH SPEED AUTOROTATION. ALL ITEMS RECORDED ON THE CHECK SHEET WERE WITHIN PRESCRIBED TOLERANCES EXCEPT ROTOR RPM IN AUTOROTATION, WHICH WAS WRITTEN AS "RED LINED". AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE AIRCRAFT IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN MAKING A HIGH SPEED DIVE INITIATED FROM A PEDAL TURN WHICH WAS PRESCRIBED IN ITEM #65 ON THE TEST FLIGHT SHEET. THE NEAREST WITNESSES TO THE AH-1G AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT WERE THE CREW MEMBERS OF A CH-47 OF THE 205TH ASH COMPANY. THE CREW OF THE CH-47 FIRST OBSERVED THE AH-1G AT THEIR ONE O'CLOCK POSITION. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED TO ENTER A DIVE OF ABOUT 60 DEG NOSE LOW ATTITUDE AND PASSED ACROSS TO THE FRONT OF AND BELOW THE CH-47. THE AIRCRAFT THEN PULLED OUT OF THE DIVE AT APPROXIMATELY 700 FEET THEN STARTED A STEEP CLIMB. CLIMBING TO 1500 FEET AND CLOSE TO THE CH-47 AT ITS 11 O'CLOCK POSITION, THE AH-1G THEN MADE A 180 DEG RIGHT PEDAL TURN AT AN ESTIMATED AIRSPEED OF 20 KNOTS. WITH AN ATTITUDE IN EXCESS OF 90 DEG BANK, THE AIRCRAFT WENT INTO A DIVE ESTIMATED BY WITNESSES TO HAVE BEEN 60 DEG NOSE LOW ATTITUDE. THE CH-47 AIRCRAFT COMMANDER AND PILOT LOST VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE AH-1G AS IT PASSED BENEATH THE CH-47. THE AH-1G WAS THEN SIGHTED BY THE RIGHT DOOR GUNNER ON THE CH-47. THE AH-1G WAS OBSERVED TO START A PULL OUT AND THE DOOR GUNNER SHIFTED HIS ATTENTION FOR A FEW SECONDS. A WITNESS ON THE GROUND AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF DI AN BASE CAMP OBSERVED THE AH-1G PULL OF THE DIVE AND STARTED TO CLIMB THEN SLOWED ITS AIRSPEED. IT LEVELED MOMENTARILY, THEN ASSUMED A SLIGHTLY NOSE LOW ATTITUDE AND MADE TWO SPINNING TURNS. BECAUSE OF THE DISTANCE FROM THE AIRCRAFT, THE WITNESS ON THE GROUND DID NOT SEE THE AIRCRAFT STRIKE THE GROUND. WHEN THE RIGHT DOOR GUNNER REGAINED VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE AH-1G, IT WAS APPROXIMATELY 50 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. IT WAS MAKING A TIGHT TURN TO THR RIGHT. THE MAIN ROTOR ASSEMBLY WAS SPINNING IN THE AIR APPROXIMATELY 100 METERS TO THE EAST OF THE FUSELAGE. WITH NO DETECTABLE FORWARD TRAVEL AFTER IMPACT, THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST ON THE LEFT WING STORE, ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE BROKEN MAST AND ON THE UPPER LEFT PORTION OF THE CANOPY. THE RIGHT DOOR GUNNER ON THE CH-47 ESTIMATED THAT THE MAIN ROTOR ASSEMBLY REMAINED AIRBORNE 5 TO 10 SECONDS AFTER THE AH-1G CRASHED.\\
This record was last updated on 05/25/1998
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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