Helicopter AH-1G 67-15671


Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 67-15671
The Army purchased this helicopter 0768
Total flight hours at this point: 00000457
Date: 03/11/1970
Incident number: 700311291ACD Accident case number: 700311291 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: D/2/1 CAV
This was an Operational Loss caused by an accident by Accident with the mission function of Maintenance Flight (test flight)
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was an Unknown mission
Unknown this helicopter was Unknown at 1000 feet and UNK knots.
The station for this helicopter was Phan Thiet in South Vietnam
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 01 KIA, 01 WIA . . Number killed in accident = 2 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 0
Search and rescue operations were Not Required
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
costing 556941
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center AVDAC database. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Army Aviation Safety Center database. Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: OPERA, JSIDR (Operations Report. Joint Services Incident Damage Report. )
Loss to Inventory and Helicopter was not recovered

Crew Members:
P CPT MATHIS DAVID LINWOOD KIA
CE SP4 STEINER TERRY MICHAEL KIA


Accident Summary:

 ACTUALLY THE INVESTIGATION WAS RATHER LIMITED. THE SITE WAS INSPECTED VERY CLOSELY BUT THERE WASN'T MUCH OF THE AIRCRAFT TO LOOK AT. IT BECAME APPARENT QUITE EARLY THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD ENTERED INTO MAST BUMPING, CAUSING THE MAIN ROTOR TO SEPARATE FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THIS WAS EVIDENCED BY THE MAST WHICH SHOWED TWO MARKS 180 DEGREES APART. ON ONE SIDE THE DENTS WERE LIGHT AND MODERATE. HOWEVER 180 FROM THAT POINT THE MAST WAS CAVED IN AND BROKEN. THE MAIN ROTOR OF THIS AIRCRAFT IS STILL MISSING. IT IS THE GENERAL CONSENSES OF THE BOARD THAT IT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN. THE CRASH SITE IS ONLY 300-400 METERS FROM THE COAST AND THAT WAS THE FLIGHT LINE OF THE AIRCRAFT ON IMPACT. FROM WHAT WAS RECONSTRUCTED THROUGH WITNESS IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE WHAT HAPPENED. THE NEAREST WITNESS WAS APPROX 2.5 MILES FROM THE SCENE. HOWEVER IT WAS DETERMINED THAT CPT MATHIS HAD THE AIRCRAFT OUT FIRING THE WEAPONS IN PREPARATION OF THE AIRCRAFT ENTERING ITS EIGHT P.E. ALTHOUGH THE WITNESS STATEMENTS ARE SKETCHY AND IN CONTRIDICTION WITH EACH OTHER, I FEEL IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT ONE OF HIS GUNS RUNS CPT MATHIS EXPERIENCED A SCAS HARDOVER IN THE PITCH CHANNEL. THIS IS EVIDENCED BY THE STATEMENTS SAYING THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO "TUCK VIOLENTLY" AND SEEMED TO START TO RECOVER, THEN WENT OUT OF CONTROL AND FELL STRAIGHT DOWN. AFTER LOOKING AT THE WRECKAGE I KNOW THE MAIN ROTOR DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT IN FLIGHT. AT THE SCENE THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF THE ROTOR AND WHEN THE MAST HIT THE GROUND IT FILLED WITH SAND. ALSO WHEN THE MAIN ROTOR LEFT THE AIRCRAFT IT IMPACTED THE TAIL ROTOR BLADES, TAKING ONE BLADE AND TEARING OFF THE GROSS HEAD AND PITCH CHANGE LINKS. THE 90 DEGREE GEAR BOX LEFT PRIOR TO IMPACT. FROM THE DIRECTION THE AIRCRAFT WAS DIVING IT YAWED TO THE LEFT AFTER LOSING ITS BLADES. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED ON ITS RIGHT SKID & SIDE. THERE WERE SIGNES OF ONLY 3-4 FEET OF FORWARD SKIDDING ON IMPACT THE AIRCRAFT WAS APPROXIMATELY 40 TO THE HEADING OF THE DIVE WAS ENTERED FROM. I BELIEVE THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED MAST BUMPING FROM ONE OR TWO THING OR POSSIBLY A COMBINATION OF BOTH. FIRST THE SCAS FAILURE OR HARD OVER AND SECOND, POSSIBLE OVER CORRECTION ON THE PILOTS PART CAUSING THE MAIN ROTOR TO FLEX DOWN AND IMPACT THE MAST. HOWEVER I MUST POINT OUT THAT NO CHECK OF THE SCAS COMPONENTS CAN BE MADE AS THEY WERE DESTROYED BY THE FIRE. UPON RESEARCH OF THE PAST 2408-13'S ON THIS AIRCRAFT NO EVIDENCE OF PAST SCAS PROBLEMS WERE FOUND. UNFORTUNATELY THE LOG BOOK WAS ALSO DESTROYED SO THE MOST RECENT 2408-13 AND THE 2408-14 CANNOT BE EXAMINED.\\

This record was last updated on 04/15/2004


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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023


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