Helicopter AH-1G 67-15760


Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 67-15760
The Army purchased this helicopter 0968
Total flight hours at this point: 00001690
Date: 07/03/1971
Incident number: 710703012ACD Accident case number: 710703012 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: A/4/77 ARA 101 ABN
This was an Operational Loss caused by an accident by Mid-Air Collision with the mission function of Armed Helicopter (having primary weapon subsystems installed and utilized to provide direct fire support)
The station for this helicopter was Phu Bai in South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YD875014 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QYD875014)
Casualties = YES . . Number killed in accident = 2 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 0
Search and rescue operations were Terminated
costing 0
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. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory and Helicopter was not recovered

Crew Members:
AC CW2 SCHETTIG ROBERT SCOTT KIA
P 1LT TOMLINSON GARY PRESTON 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 04/15/2004


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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023


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