68th Helo Incidents & Accidents

Location: 5K NE of Xuan Loc

Aircraft was escorting slicks on CA Mission. Shortly after takeoff aircraft was hit by an RPG severing the tail rotor and gear box. A/C performed an autorotation into jungle clearing, resulting in no further damage to aircraft. Aircraft was destroyed by grass fire started from a smoke grenade.


Date	Buro #	Type	A/C	Co-Pilot	C/E	Gunner	Pass.	Injured/KIA	A/C Status	Remarks
7/20/1966	64-14095	UH-1B	CW2 Lambdin, Daniel	CW2 Kinkeade, Ronald	SP4 Dillon, David A. Jr.	SP4 Tate, Walter R.	0	4 KIA	destroyed	This was the 68th AHC's first combat loss. The aircraft was hit by an RPG right at Dillon's position. During the landing approach, the helicopter was hit by enemy gunfire, exploded and crashed.
8/01/1966	64-14088	UH-1B	CPT Abel, Charles S.	WO1 Edwin R. Higgins	Sp4 Kenneth R. Bertsch	AN Roger D. Childers USN	0	4 KIA	destroyed	1 OF 2 Gunships escorting slicks to LZ missed LZ due to weather. Returning to base, flight became separated in heavy rain. AC seen slowing down and entering trees.
3/19/1967	64-13799	UH-1D	WO1 Barton, James P. KIA	WO1 Dave Holloway	SP4 Sheffield, John N. KIA	SP4 Washburn, Johnny KIA	0	3 KIA 1 injured	destroyed	AC dropped off troops in hot LZ, the ac was about to exit the LZ when a command detonated mine was set off, the aircraft went down in the LZ and burned.
12/07/1967		UH-1C	W1 Steven Hickman	1stLT John Rockom	Unk.	Unk.	0	4 Injured	destroyed	During a battalion size combat assault at Song Be. Immediately after refueling, the engine died while in a tight turn about 100 ft. above the ground. The aircraft came down hard and rolled up. No fire, cause of engine failure was fuel control valve failure.
12/11/1967	65-10134		W1 Toensing, JA	W1 Webb, R.	Unk.	E4 Freeland, FL	4	7 Injured	destroyed	On climb out, a loud explosion was heard. An autorotation was made with a running landing. The aircraft hit an earthen birm, lost the skids and rolled forward. The engine failed from an unknown cause.
1/2/1968	66-00686		W1 Radcliff, Jr	W1 Sitzer , EL	SP5 Lakin, Richard	Unk.	1	1 KIA	repaired	686 on a night approach to an unlighted airfield. tail rotor struck main rotor blade of parked ac.. Tail boom then struck tail boom of another AC
1/3/1968	65-09680	UH-1D	W1 Raimi, MD	O2 Potter, JE	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	Hard landing in IFR dust condition
2/26/1968	66-16861		W1 Plumlee, PV	W1 Post, JH	Unk.	E4 Taylor, GE	0	2 injured	destroyed	Aircraft landing at high rate of descent. Aircraft hit the ground, bounced and inverted
3/27/1968	66-16835		W2 Simon, JL	W1 Wilms, RH	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	destroyed	Aircraft in PZ went IFR on takeoff. Pilot flew the aircraft into a gully right side low with the main rotor striking the ground
3/08/1968	66-00654		WO1 Dave Holloway	Maj Charles Mix	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	destroyed	Location: 5K NE of Xuan Loc Aircraft was escorting slicks on CA Mission. Shortly after takeoff aircraft was hit by an RPG severing the tail rotor and gear box. A/C performed an autorotation into jungle clearing, resulting in no further damage to aircraft. Aircraft was destroyed by grass fire started from a smoke grenade.
8/18/1968	66-16860		W1 Crosby	Unk.	Unk.	E4 Strauss	0	3 WIA, 1 Inj.	destroyed	Aircraft struck by RPG in LZ - A/C burst into flames and destroyed
9/16/1968	65-09841	UH-1D	WO1 Bowers, Russell	WO1 Partridge, Norman	PFC Summerfield, Samuel	SP4 Herring, Brady	0	3 KIA - 1WIA	destroyed	Aircraft was shot up in a single ship LZ, lifted off, crashed in the trees and burned.
10/15/1968	66-16877		W1 Kludt, KE	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	Tail rotor struck rice paddy causing sudden stop
12/11/1968	66-00529		Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	2 WIA	repaired	Helicopter took 6 hits from small arms, hit in tail section & engine, two crew wounded
3/20/1969	66-16077		O2 Stensgaard, MM	X1 Khanh, NV	E4 Smith, DL	E3 Nuse, K	4	2 injured	destroyed	Noise & vibration resulted in loss of pedal control and airspeed, ac began to spin, crash into trees, and impacted ground
3/24/1969	65-09526	UH-1C	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	1 WIA	destroyed	Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
4/20/1969	66-15042		O3 Christian, S	W1 Bock, WH	E4 Baca, Richard D.	E4 JONES GP	0	0	repaired	AIRCRAFT CRASHED ON THE EAST PERIMETER ROAD OF ^BIEN HOA AFB, RVN
4/21/1969	66-15184		Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	2 WIA	repaired	AIRCRAFT CRASHED ON THE EAST PERIMETER ROAD OF ^BIEN HOA AFB, RVN
5/5/1969	67-17210		W1 Anderson, PG	W1 Montogmery, WR	E4 Eddins, JD	E4 Woods, MB	1	1	repaired	Tail Rotor struck fence - resulting in hard landing - damaged tail and skids
6/14/1969	66-16134		W2 Polanski, CS	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	While hovering pilot heard loud bang, AC became difficult to control, AC sustained a hard landing
6/19/1969	66-15184		WO1 Haukeness, Glenn	WO1 Williams, Robert	Sgt Baca, Richard D.	SP4 Rouchon, Michael	0	4 KIA	destroyed	Helicopter took hits from small arms fire, clashed and burned
6/27/1969	66-00883		02 Richardson, JH	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	On approach to LZ AC sustained main rotor blade damage.
7/17/1969	66-16828		WO1 Garrison, Noel	W1 Talbert, ME	E4 Clark, EE	E4 Floyd, ML	3	2 KIA - 2 Inj.	destroyed	Aircraft lost power, fell through trees and was destroyed upon impact with ground.
8/14/1969	64-13595	UH-1D	W1 Kane, DC	W1 Brown, LL	E5 Chandler, DR	E4 Balliet	1	5 injured	destroyed	On Smoke mission - AC struck dead tree, impacted ground 75 yards past tree, slid, and broke off tail, burned.
8/17/1969	65-09852		W1 Burns, CM	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	ON TAKE OFF FROM PICK UP ZONE ROTOR BLADES DAMAGED BY CONTACT WITH TREES ICDT DAMAGED
8/17/1969	64-13814	UH-1D	O2 Paskell, RC	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	On touchdown from pickup zone ac expc main rotor blade strike both blades damaged beyond repair
8/29/1969	65-09925		W1 Burns, CM	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	AC began to loose RPM on Touch down, main rotor blades hit a tree damaging blades.
9/05/1969	68-15135	UH-1H	Maj. Tom Moody	Unk.	Sp5 Charles Romero	Unk.	0	1 KIA	repaired	A command detonated explosive went off at tree level killing the crew chief. A/C lost power, tail rotor and boom damaged, helo auto rotated to ground..
9/17/1969	63-08822	UH-1D	O3 Richardson, JL	W1 Libby, DW	E4 Barthel, JE	E4 Jones, JM	5	1 KIA - 4 inj	destroyed	AC experienced translational lift, then RPM loss. The AC impacted the ground in a sideways movement, striking a log, the AC rolled on left side.
11/12/1969	64-13546	UH-1H	W2 Widmer, PC	W1 VanDeest, TS	Unk.	Unk.	1	0	repaired	Entering LZ tail rotor came into contact with the ground. The tail rotor blades and 90 degree gear box were torn off immediately. Ship landed.
11/28/1969	66-01210		W1 Djukich, V.	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0.	0	repaired	AC was light on skids in pickup zone while loading troops. AC bounced around allowing main rotor blades to dip down and hit small trees damaging blades.
12/4/1969	68-15325		W2 David A. Hickman	Unk.	Sgt. Roy L. Royston	E5 Joseph A. Velez-Hernandez	0	3 KIA	destroyed	Shot down after take off from Tan Linh.
12/8/1969	65-09751	UH-1D	W1 Patino, A	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0.	0	repaired	On Take Off AC started bleeding RPM, AC aborted takeoff and landed in brush and small trees damaging main rotor blades and 90 degree gear box.
3/2/1970	65-09886		W1 Harris, WE	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	Departing LZ Pilot lost visual reference in dust raised by other ac. Pilot didn't see tree in his path of flight, banked last minute around tree and lost lift. Resulting in M/R strike ICDT damage to ac.
3/24/1970	66-16182		W1 Djukich, V	W1 Drewey. EL	E4 Downs, DR	E4 Bodkins, JL	0	1 injured	repaired	Loss of RPM on takeoff, ac settled, Main Rotor struck ground, damaged transmission and 90 degree gear box, substantial damage Photo - 1 of several
4/12/1970	66-16214		W1 Rivett, DA	W1 Wade, MG	E4 Vent, MJ	E4 Kuneman, DJ	0	1 injured	repaired	Aircraft struck tree stump in LZ, rolled over, substantial damage to A/C
4/13/1970	65-09439	UH-1C	W2 Harberson, WE	W1 Smith, HE	E5 Youtsey, JL	E4 Jordon, RL	0	4 injured	repaired	Harberson heard a lou noise and noticed the torque meter freeze at 50 #s, the engine failed. He immediately auto rotated. The AC hit hard and skipped about 50 ft, and rolled on the left side as it stopped. Photo - 1 of several
4/18/1970	66-01036		W1 Stave, DG	W! Reimer, JE	E5 Sylvaia, RE	E6 Morse, ML	0	0	repaired	Troops jumped off ship changing center of gravity, tail swung down, stinger hit ground and tail rotor hit stump. This ripped off the 90 degree gear box.
7/9/1970	67-17386		W1 Woodruff, MW	W1 Day, BW	E5 Stephens, GL	E4 Sloan, SW	0	0	repaired	As the aircraft touched down, the right skid caught something, the AC leaned on its right side.
7/12/1970	68-16461		W1 Stave, DG	O2 Wilson, Ron	n/a	n/a	0		repaired	ENGINE FAILED
7/26/1970	68-16190		W1 Stave, DG	O2 Holloway, GA	E5 Vent. MJ	E4 Bodkin, JL	2	all injured	Unk	Loss of power at 60 feet - impacted grown - tail broke off - rolled over Photo - 1 of several
7/28/1970	67-17852		W1 Manning, RE	W1 VanDeest, TS	n/a	n/a	0	0	repaired	Rotor Mesh with another 68th ship
7/28/1970	66-19537		W1 Manning, RE	CPT. Robert Godar	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	Rotor Mesh with another 68th ship
8/15/1970	69-15082		W1 Bauer, BF	W2 Peterson, DG	E5 Bowers, DR		0		destroyed	Engine failure followed by In-Flight Fire.. Successful autorotation from 1,700 feet. AC continued to burn, destroying AC. Photo - 1 of several
9/14/1970	68-15326		X1 Vh Tri	O1 Pennock, TW	n/a		0	1 injured	Unk.	During check ride, ac turned left, main rotor blade struck the ground. AC settled on side, tail boom was severed and AC sustained severe damage. Photo - 1 of several
9/21/1970	68-16430		W1 Campos, R	X1 Trieu, CX	E4 Lambert, WD		0		repaired	Engine Failed - hard landing
10/2/1970	64-13526	UH-1D	W1 Maxwell, JT	X1 Dinh, NV	SP5 Titus, Karl W.	SP4 Warnick, Michael	5	8 KIA - 1 inj	destroyed	AC experienced a prowler problem and started a shallow decent to return to PZ. AC struck a tree at 110 feet and 60 degree angle. AC struck ground and burned. Photo - 1 of several
11/19/1970	67-17286		W2 REIMER J	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	Tail Rotor Damage
12/3/1970	64-13626	UH-1H	O3 Durfee, LW	Unk.	Unk.	Unk.	0	0	repaired	AC experienced varying oil pressure, then engine chip detector light came on. A precautionary landing was started, engine problems continued and an autorotation was started when the engine exploded.
Blank

\| Main Page \| Top Tiger Photos \| Mustang Photos \| \| Unit Helicopters \|
Unit member names in Bold Print were KIA	The below information is a summary of the records shared by VHPA. If you are aware of additional information please contact the webmaster so updates can be made. Please accompany source of information such as incident or accident number with request. webmaster ddgreenn@yahoo.com For a complete record of the incidents click on this link: Unit Helicopters then click on the BURO #

Copyright © 2004 68thahc.com. All rights reserved.Revised: October 15, 2013 .

Copyright © 2004 68thahc.com. All rights reserved.
Revised: October 15, 2013 .