Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 68-15185
The Army purchased this helicopter 0769
Total flight hours at this point: 00001139
Date: 07/03/1971
Incident number: 710703011ACD Accident case number: 710703011 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: A/4/77 ARA 101 ABN
The station for this helicopter was Phu Bai in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YD874005 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QYD874005)
Number killed in accident = 2 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 0
costing 753033
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 CPT BERGFIELD PHILLIP REX KIA
P CPT MARTELL TERRY JACK KIA
Accident Summary:
THE AIRCRAFT IN QUESTION WERE ON 2 MINUTE ALERT STATUS WITH AN AERIAL ROCKET ARTILLERY BATTERY. THEY RECEIVED A CONTACT MISSION AT APPROXIMATELY 2320 HOURS AND WERE IMMEDIATELY LAUNCHED. ARRIVING ON STATION AT 2330 HOURS IN TRAIL FORMATION, A CIRCLING ORBIT WAS SET UP BY THE LEAD AIRCRAFT AND WAS OBSERVED BY GROUND TROOPS, WHO INDICATED THE ORBIT GOT SMALLER AND SMALLER. THE LAST RADIO TRANSMISSION MONITORED WAS THAT THE LEAD AIRCRAFT, FLOWN BY CPT BERGFIELD, WAS "ROLLING IN HOT". AT THIS TIME THE TROOPS ON THE GROUND OBSERVED A LARGE FLASH OF FIRE AND SOME ROCKETS BEING FIRED. THE BURNING AIRCRAFT FELL TO THE GROUND OVER A RIDGE LINE 800 METERS FROM THE GROUND TROOPS WHO ALSO REPORTED SHORTLY AFTER THE FLASH OF FIRE IN THE SKY, THERE WAS ANOTHER FLASH ON THE GROUND OVER THE RIDGE LINE. THE FLASH OF FIRE IN THE SKY WAS ALSO OBSERVED BY ^CW2 BARRY MARTENS, 310-56-6339^, OF ^A BTRY, 4/77TH ARTY, 101ST ABN DIV^ WHO WATCHED THE AIRCRAFT LAUNCHED, AND DEPART THE PHU BAI COMBAT BASE TO THE SOUTHWEST IN TRAIL FORMATION. ^CW2 MARTENS^ OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT SET UP THEIR ORBIT OVER THE CONTACT AREA AND WAS WATCHING FOR THE SECTION TO COMMENCE THEIR FIRING RUNS. ^CW2 MARTENS^ THEN OBSERVED A LARGE FLASH IN THE AREA OF THE AIRCRAFT AND COULD NO LONGER SEE THE AIRCRAFT POSITIONS LIGHTS. HE WENT TO THE BATTERY OPERATIONS CENTER AND INFORMED THE PERSONNEL ON DUTY, WHO INITIATED A RADIO SEARCH WITH NEGATIVE RESULTS. THE GROUND COMMANDER ALSO RADIOED THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD CRASHED. AT THIS TIME THE ^4TH BATTALION, 77TH ARTILLERY^ HEADQUARTERS TACTICAL OPERATIONS CENTER WAS NOTIFIED, WHO IN TURN LAUNCHED A SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM IN A UH-1H. UPON ARRIVING ON THE SCENE, TWO FIRES WERE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY 200 METERS APART AND WITH CLOSE OBSERVATION OF THE FIRES, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT BOTH AIRCRAFT WERE TOTALLY DESTROYED WITH LITTLE CHANCE OF SURVIVORS.\\
This record was last updated on 09/20/1998
This information is available on CD-ROM.
Additional information is available on KIAs at http://www.coffeltdatabase.org
Please send additions or corrections to: The VHPA Webmaster Gary Roush.
KIA statistics
Return to the KIA panel date index
Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association