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A Company - "Pachyderm" 159th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion Phu Bai, Republic of Vietnam 1971 |
| 68-15835 |
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A Company - "Pachyderm" 159th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion Phu Bai, Republic of Vietnam 1971 |
| 68-15835, Boeing build number B-547, was a CH-47C helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 21 November 1968. 68-15835 accumulated approximately 1,138.0 aircraft hours. At some point, 68-15835 was assigned to A Company - "Pachyderm", 159th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion, located at Phu Bai in the Republic of Vietnam. On 15 February 1971, 68-15835 was lost due to an accident. There were six fatalities. The last known location of 68-15835 was in the Republic of Vietnam. Aircraft status: Crashed. |
| Accident Summary |
| On 15 February 1971, at 1955 hours, US Army 68-15835 transmitted a message to its operations that it had just picked up to go out for a hover check. According to testimony, US Army 68-15835 moved from the Alpha company area to an open field next to the maintenance area where hover tests are normally performed. After approximately 15 minutes of hovering, the aircraft turned to an approximate heading of 090 and started back toward the Alpha company area. At this point witnesses lost sight of the aircraft as it climbed into a heavy mist; however, the landing light could still be seen, thus providing the observers a means of tracking the aircraft. Now in the heavy mist the aircraft was obviously IFR. Under these conditions, it turned to a heading of approximately 020 and moved across the Phu Bai burm line at a high rate of speed. Men occupying positions in bunkers along the north side of Phu Bai claim to have seen the light, but not the aircraft, as it passed over their positions headed in a north easterly direction. Witnesses say that it was only a matter of seconds from this time, that the aircraft came out of the mist and struck the ground. Just prior to impact, witnesses claim to have noticed that the light tumbled or turned in such a manner as to indicate the aircraft plunged itself into the ground nose first. Judging from the wreckage the aircraft did strike the ground at an extremely high rate of vertical descent, nose low and almost completely inverted. |
| Fatalities |
| CPT Gerald Paul Wick, Pilot, KIA. |
| CW2 William Daniel Sapp, Pilot, KIA. |
| SFC Yoshio Takehara, CE, KIA |
| SP6 Richard Norman Bruso, Crewmember, KIA |
| CPL Larry Freeman Ott, DG, KIA. |
| One Unknown Local National, KIA. |
| This aircraft was piloted by: |
| Your Name Here. |
| This aircraft was crewed by: |
| Your Name Here. |
| Related Information |
| Accident Report |
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