Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 68-17089
The Army purchased this helicopter 1269
Total flight hours at this point: 00000689
Date: 02/12/1971 MIA-POW file reference number: 1702
Incident number: 71021210.KIA
Unit: C/2/17 CAV
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
for Close Air Support
Unknown this helicopter was Unknown at UNK feet and UNK knots.
Laos
UTM grid coordinates: XD676488 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QXD676488)
Anti-Aircraft Artillery; Gun launched explosive ballistic projectiles equal to or greater than 20 mm in size.
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 02 KIA . .
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: 1702, CASRP
(Casualty Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
P CW2 MCLEOD ARTHUR EDWARD RR
AC CPT WILKINSON CLYDE DAVID RR
REFNO Synopsis:
SYNOPSIS: On February 12, 1971, WO McLeod was the pilot and Capt. Clyde D.
Wilkinson the aircraft commander of an AH1G helicopter flying an armed
reconnaissance mission west of Quang Tri, South Vietnam. During an attack on a
target, McLeod's aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire. He radioed that the
engine oil bypass caution light was on, and that he would attempt to return to
Khe Sanh.
On the return attempt, the aircraft began to smoke and burn, and the crew
attempted to land the aircraft. Just prior to touchdown, the aircraft exploded
and crashed, followed by intense fire and ammunition detonation.
After the aircraft had cooled, several passes were made overhead, but no
survivors were detected. The aircraft had been almost completely consumed by
the intense fire and explosions. Search continued by air, but no sign of the
crew was ever found. Enemy presence prohibited ground search.
War Story:
MIA REMAINS RECOVERY
No. 138-M
MEMORANDUM FOR CORRESPONDENTS
August 27, 1999
The remains of three American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from
Southeast Asia have been identified and are being returned to their families
for burial in the United States.
They are identified as Army Capt. Clyde D. Wilkinson of Mineral Wells, Tex.,
Army Warrant Officer Arthur E. McLeod of Bay Shore, N.Y., and Navy Lt. Cmdr.
V. King Cameron of McAllen, Tex.
On Feb. 12, 1971, Wilkinson and McLeod were flying an armed
reconnaissance mission approximately 37 miles west of Quang Tri, South
Vietnam, when their AH-1G Cobra gunship was struck by enemy ground fire. The
crew attempted to fly the helicopter back to the home base at Khe Sanh when
the aircraft began to smoke and burn, forcing an emergency landing. Shortly
before touchdown the helicopter exploded and crashed. An intense fire, fed
by exploding ordnance, engulfed the aircraft. Other aircraft crewmembers
involved in the mission flew over the crash site, but saw no evidence of
survivors. The presence of enemy forces in the area precluded a ground
search.
In July 1993, a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam team, led by the
Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, traveled to Quang Tri Province and
interviewed a villager claiming to have knowledge of a US helicopter crash.
However, the team found no evidence of a crash at that time. In May 1995,
another team interviewed two local villagers claiming to have information
about two US crash sites in the same province. One of the sites was
scheduled for excavation.
During May and June of 1997, a third team excavated the crash site. They
recovered human remains as well as personal effects and pilot-related items.
This record was last updated on 06/01/2000
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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