Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 68-16554
The Army purchased this helicopter 1269
Total flight hours at this point: 00000710
Date: 02/15/1971
Incident number: 710215171ACD Accident case number: 710215171 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: B/2/17 CAV
The station for this helicopter was Hue / Eagle in South Vietnam
Number killed in accident = 7 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 4
costing 590945
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Army Aviation Safety Center database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
P CW2 CONCANNON RICHARD NEIL KIA
P WO1 BURKE JOSEPH SCOTT KIA
CE SGT COBB JAMES PAUL KIA
G SP4 JOHNSON ZEBULON MURPHY JR KIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
1LT SMITH JAMES LEROY, AR, PX, KIA
SGT ENGLAND STEVEN GLENN, AR, PX, KIA
SGT TRUJILLO GABRIEL, AR, PX, KIA
Accident Summary:
THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED CAMP EAGLE, RVN ON A EMERGENCY NIGHT EVACUATION MISSION AT APPROXIMATELY 1840 HRS 15 FEBRUARY 1971 DURING A PERIOD OF MARGINAL WEATHER. (PILOT REPORTED AS 300 TO 400 FEET AND ON-HALF MILE VISIBILITY.) FIFTY MINUTES INTO THE MISSION, A DIFFICULT EXTRACTION OF THE WOUNDED MAN WAS MADE USING A MCGUIRE RIG AND THE AIRCRAFT LIFTEDOFF. THE AIRCRAFT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY ENCOUNTERED INSTUMENT FLIGHT CONDITIONS. FLIGHT WAS MADE BACK TO PHU BAI AND A GCA APPROACH INITIATED IWTH THE WOUNDED MAN STILL RIGGED BENEATH THE AIRCRAFT. DURING THIS PHASE OF THE FLIGHT, NOTATION HAS BEEN MADE OF THE PILOT MAKING A TRANSMISSION TO THE EFFECT HE WAS EXPERIENCING VERTIGO AND TURNING OVER CONTROLS OF THE AIRCRAFT TO THE COPILOT. AS THE AIRCRAFT APPROACHED PHU BAI AT 5500 FEET CONTACT WAS MADEWITH APPROACH CONTROL. AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO EXTABLISH RADAR IDENTIFICATION. THE TRANSPONDER AND ADF PROVED INOPERATIVE. AFTER TURNING THE AIRCRAFT 030 DEGREES CONTACT WAS ESTABLISHED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THEN TOLD TO CLIMB TO 6000 FEET FOR TERRAIN CLEARANCE. DOWNWIND WAS ESTABLISHED AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS TOLD TO DESCEND TO 1600 FT. ONCE UNDER FINAL CONTROLLER AUTHORITY THE AIRCRAFT WAS VECTORED WITH SOME DIFFICULTY EXPERIENCE IN GROUND TRACK, ATTRIBUTABLE TO MCGUIRE RIG, WIND AND 40 KTS AIRSPEED, TO THE FINAL APPROACH COURSE AND TOLD TO BEGIN A THREE DEGREE RATE OF DESCENT. ALL APPEARED NORAML, WITH THE AIRCRAFT RESPONDING TO DIRECTIONS, UNTIL APPROXIMATELY THREE MILES ON FINAL. AT THIS POINT THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED BELOW THE GLIDE PATH IN A RIGHT TURN, AND WAS LOST FROM THE GCA SCOPE. RADIO CONTACT WAS ALSO LOST AT THIS TIME. IT WAS LATER OBSERVED BY GROUND WITNESSES PROCEEDING NORTH OF THE VILLAGE OF PHU THU EXECUTING A RIGHT TURN. THE IMPACT OF THE AIRCRAFT AT APPROXIMATELY 1952 HRS INDICATED AS NOSE LOW, RIGHT FRONT CORNER OF THE FUSLEAGE FIRST WITH SKID TOUCHING SIMULTANEOUSLY. UPON IMPACT THE AIRCRAFT SEPARATED, THE TRANSMISSION, ROTOR HEAD AND MAST LEAVING THE AIRFRAME AND THEENGINE STAYING WITH THE MAJOR FUSELAGE PORTION. FORWARD FUSELAGE WAS DESTROUED BY FIRE.\\
War Story:
Crashed two miles on final approach to Phu Bai. Had extracted a wounded ranger by McGuire Rig out of Roung Roung Valley and had to go IFR to clear trees with the man on the McGuire. GCA forgot about the McGuire Rig and when it became entangled in the trees, the aircraft went inverted and crashed. from William Jones, Banshee 29, July 97.
This record was last updated on 09/20/1998
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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