Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D tail number 66-16496
The Army purchased this helicopter 0667
Total flight hours at this point: 00000644
Date: 12/18/1968
Incident number: 681218181ACD Accident case number: 681218181 Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: 173 AVN
The station for this helicopter was Lai Khe in South Vietnam
Number killed in accident = 1 . . Injured = 4 . . Passengers = 1
costing 270954
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:
AC W1 FE DALBERG
P W1 W TODD
CE E4 D MOSHER
G SP4 OLSON RICHARD KIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
E4 DA DAVIS, PAX, D
Accident Summary:
THE AIRCRAFT RETURNED FROM R&R AND WAS AT THE ^SAIGON HELIPORT (HOTEL3)^. THE AIRCRAFT PROCEEDED TO ^HOTEL 3^ AND PICKED UP ^SP4 DAVIS^ AND TWO UNIDENTIFIED PASSENGERS WHO WERE GOING TO ^PHU LOI^. THE AIRCRAFT PROCEEDED TO ^PHU LOI^ AND MADE THE PASSENGER DROP OFF. THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER NOTED THAT THE FUEL GAUGE INDICATED APPROXIMATELY 300 POUNDS. KNOWING THAT THE FLIGHT WOULD CONSUME, AT MOST, 100 POUNDS, HE ELECTED TO RETURN TO ^LAI KHE^ WITH HIS PRESENT FUEL LOAD. THE AIRCRAFT MADE A NORMAL TAKE OFF AND PROCEEDED TO ^LAI KHE^. APPROXIMATELY THREE MILES SOUTHEAST OF ^LAI KHE,^ THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER INITIATED A CALL TO THE TOWER FOR LANDING. PRIOR TO RECEIVING AN ANSWER, THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER NOTED A LOSS IN RPM AND INITIATED AN AUTOROTATION TO A RICE PADDY AND CALLED ^LAI KHE^ TOWER A SECOND TIME THAT HE WAS GOING DOWN WITH AN ENGINE FAILURE. THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN WITH NO APPARENT DAMAGE AND THE CREW CHIEF AND GUNNER DISMOUNTED TO HELP THE PILOTS OUT AND SET UP DEFENSIVE POSITIONS. AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, THE ENGINE CAME ON LINE AND THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER REGAINED FULL USE OF THE ENGINE AND 600 RPM. THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER AND PILOT BOTH OBSERVED SEVERAL ^VIETNAMESE^ NATIONALS IN THE AREA AND AFTER THE ENGINE HAD RETURNED TO 6600 RPM, DECIDED TO ATTEMPT TO FLY THE AIRCRAFT TO EITHER A SECURE AREA ALONG ^ROUTE 13^ OR TO ^LAI KHE^. THERE ARE CONFLICTING STATEMENTS AS TO THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS ACTUALLY DOWN AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT. IT IS THE BOARD'S OPINION THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS DOWN FOR A CONSIDERABLY LONGER PERIOD BEYOND THE FIVE (5) SECONDS AS STATED BY ^SP5 HOGAN^. BOTH THE DOOR GUNNER AND CREW CHIEF HAD TIME TO OPEN THE PILOT'S DOORS AND REMOVE THEIR MACHINE GUNS PRIOR TO THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDERS' DECISION TO TAKE OFF. THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER PICKED THE AIRCRAFT UP TO A HOVER AND, WITH ALL INSTRUMENTS IN THE GREEN, HE PROCEEDED TO ^LAI KHE^. AT APPROXIMATELY 200 TO 300 FEET, THE ENGINE AGAIN LOST POWER AND AN AUTOROTATION WAS INITIATED. THIS TIME, HOWEVER, THE AIRCRAFT WAS OVER TREES AND AT APPROXIMATELY 30 FEET, THE MAIN ROTOR MADE CONTACT, CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO HIT ON THE LEFT SIDE AND ROLL OVER TWO OR THREE TIMES. THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN REFUELED AT ^NHA BE^ AT ^1530 HOURS^ AND HAD BEEN RUNNING FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO (2) HOURS WHEN IT WENT DOWN. FUEL STARVATION WAS FIRST CONSIDERED, HOWEVER, AFTER INTERVIEWING WITNESSES AND CREW, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF FUEL ON THE GROUND AROUND THE CRASH SITE. THERE WAS, ALSO, FUEL SPILLED FROM THE WRECKAGE WHEN IT WAS PICKED UP BY THE RECOVERY AIRCRAFT AND THE POSSIBILITY OF FUEL STARVATION WAS ELIMINATED. THE GUNNER HAD APPARENTLY NOT STRAPPED IN AND WAS THROWN FROM THE AIRCRAFT AS SEAT BELTS ON THE GUNNER'S SIDE WERE IN GOOD CONDITION AFTER THE CRASH AND SHOWED NO SIGNS OF MALFUNCTION. ANOTHER ^173RD^ ASSAULT HELICOPTER COMPANY AIRCRAFT WAS WORKING THE ^LAI KHE^ TRAFFIC PATTERN AND HEARD THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER'S BROADCAST HE HAD LOST HIS ENGINE. THIS AIRCRAFT DEPARTED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AND CONTACTED ^496^ JUST AS HE WAS GOING DOWN THE SECOND TIME. THE TRAINING AIRCRAFT AND A BULLDOG AIRCRAFT BOTH ARRIVED AT THE SAME TIME AND PICKED UP THE INJURED, TAKING THEM TO THE "DOCTOR DELTA" PAD AT ^LAI KHE^. WHILE INVESTIGATING THE AIRCRAFT ^66-16496,^ THE INVESTIGATION BOARD FOUND: THE TAIL BOOM WAS SEVERED AT IT'S BASE DUE TO THE AIRCRAFT STRIKING A TREE IMMEDIATELY AFTER MAKING GROUND CONTACT. THE AIRCRAFT SLID AND ROLLED FOR A DISTANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 150 FEET FROM THE POINT OF INITIAL IMPACT WITH THE GROUND DURING WHICH TIME THE SKIDS WERE TORN FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND THE MAIN ROTOR BECAME SEPARATED FROM THE MAST. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN AN INVERTED POSITION. THE TRANSMISSION WAS THROWN FORWARD ON IMPACT AND PUSHED FURTHER FORWARD, BY THE ROLLING OF THE AIRCRAFT, TO AN ANGLE APPROXIMATELY 45 DEGREES FROM IT'S ORIGINAL POSITION. THE UPPER FRONT AND LEFT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER'S POSITION WERE DESTROYED, THE RIGHT FRONT AND OVERHEAD PORTIONS OF THE PILOTS POSITION WERE CRUSHED IN DURING THE ROLLING OF THE AIRCRAFT.\\
This record was last updated on 09/20/1998
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