Helicopter OH-6A 66-17765


Information on U.S. Army helicopter OH-6A tail number 66-17765
The Army purchased this helicopter 0368
Total flight hours at this point: 00001181
Date: 02/10/1971 MIA-POW file reference number: 1701
Incident number: 71021018.KIA
Unit: B/2/17 CAV
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was a Recon mission for Unarmed Recon
While in Operations Area this helicopter was in Orbit at 0250 feet and 085 knots.
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YD257076 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QYD257076)
Helicopter took 4 hits from:
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (12.7MM)
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 02 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 Reference Notes. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: 1701, LNNF, HUGHS, OPREP (Lindenmuth New Format Data Base. )
Loss to Inventory

Crew Members:
OB SGT PIETRZAK JOSEPH RAY BNR
P WO1 ROBERTSON MARK JOHN BNR


REFNO Synopsis:
SYNOPSIS: WO Mark J. Robertson, pilot, and Sgt. Joseph R. Pietrzak, observer, were flying aboard an OH6A helicopter on a visual reconnaissance mission in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam on February 10, 1972. The helicopter was hit by heavy 51 caliber machine gun fire in the power compartment and fuel section. It burst into flames and fell vertically and exploded on impact. Other helicopters in the area immediately attempted to land and search the area for survivors, but the crewmen reported that enemy fire and deteriorating weather conditions prevented them from doing so. None of the crews conducting visual searches saw survivors or bodies around the blazing helicopter. Radio frequencies were monitored for a period after that, with no result. Enemy activity in the area prevented further search in the loss area near the Laos border.

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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