Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 68-15185
The Army purchased this helicopter 0769
Total flight hours at this point: 00000920
Date: 03/15/71
Unit: A/4/77 ARA 101 ABN
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was REPAIRED IN THEATER
This was an Unknown mission
While On Target this helicopter was Attacking at 0800 feet and 100 knots.
Classified
Helicopter took 1 hits from:
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (12.7MM)
The helicopter was hit in the Bottom
Systems damaged were: FUEL SYS
The helicopter Continued Flight.
The aircraft continued and accomplished all mission objectives.
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: JSIDR (Joint Services Incident Damage Report. )
Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 68-15185
The Army purchased this helicopter 0769
Total flight hours at this point: 00001060
Date: 05/09/71
Accident case number: 710509051
Unit: A/4/77 ARA 101 ABN
The station for this helicopter was Hue / Phu Bai in
Number killed in accident = 0 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 2
costing 45067
Source(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Army Aviation Safety Center database.
Crew Members:
AC W2 HILL RN
P W2 STROM TP
Passengers:
UNK UNK, LCO, G;
UNK UNK, FTS, G;
Accident Summary:
THE PILOT AND AIRCRAFT COMMANDER HAD JUST RETURNED FROM THE SECOND AERIAL ARTILLERY FIRE MISSION LASTING AN HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTES, WHICH GAVE THEM A FLIGHT TIME TOTAL FOR THE DAY OF TWO HOURS AND TEN MINUTES. THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER PLACED THE COBRA AT THE REFUELING POINT SEVEN ON THE NORTH SIDE OF HUEPPHU BAI AIRFIELD AND REFUELED THE AH-1G. THE DAYS EVENTS UP TO THIS POINT WERE NOT SIGNIFICANT AS THEY DID NOT DIFFER FROM NORMAL DAILY ROUTINE EXPERIENCED BY THIS AERIAL ARTILLERY CREW. THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER RE-ENTERED THE AIRCRAFT, SECURED HIS SEAT AND SHOULDER HARNESS, AND CLOSED THE CANOPY. AFTER CALLING HUE TOWER FOR CLEARANCE TO HOVER FROM THE REFUELING AREA TO THE BATTERY A PARKING AREA, HE ASKED HIS FRONT SEAT IF HE WAS CLEAR TO HOVER. THE FRONT SEAT PILOT, ^CW2 STROM^ REPLIED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE AND ^CW2 HILL^ PICKED THE COBRA UP TO A HOVER. AT THIS POINT, ^CW2 HILL^ EXECUTED A MANEUVER CONTRARY TO THE ACCEPTED STANDARD PROCEDURE OF HIS UNIT AND ALL USING UNITS OF THE HUE/PHU BAI REFUELING POINTS. INSTEAD OF PLACING HIS NOSE THE REFUELING POINT AND LOOKING SIDEWAYS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS TO SEE IF THE HOVER LAND WAS CLEAR, HE TURNED HIS TAIL TO THE REFUELING POINT TO MAKE THE SAME CLEARING CHECK. AT THIS POINT, THROUGH A POSSIBLE COMBINATION OF THE PREVAILING WINDS EXTEND OVER THE BOUNDARY CURB OF THE NORTH PARALLEL TAXI-WAY AND THE STINGER CAME OFF THE TOP OF THE STAND PIPE AND THE TAIL ROTOR MADE CONTACT. THIS CONTACT RIPPED UP THE LAST SEVEN INCHES OF ONE BLADE ON THE TAIL ROTOR LEAVING TWO VERY DEEP ROTATIONAL GOUGES IN THE STAND PIPE WITH MATCHING PAINT SMEARS TO LEAVE POSITIVE EVIDENCE IN RECONSTRUCTING THE EVENTS. THE TAIL BOOM SWING LEFT, YAWING THE NOSE OF THE NOSE OF THE COBRA RIGHT. DUE TO THE IMBALANCE OF THE TAIL ROTOR AND THE SEVERE STRESS BY THE STRIKE, THE 90 DEG GEAR BOX WAS SEVERED OR THROWN FROM THE VERTICAL FIN AT THIS POINT. THE TAIL ROTOR WENT SWOUTH AND THE GEAR BOX AND SLIDER WENT NORTH DAMAGING A PARKED COBRA INSIDE A STEEL REVETMENT. AS THE TAIL BOOM SWUNG LEFT, IT CONTACTED THE LARGE WHEEL BORNE FIRE EXTINGUISHER SITTING INSIDE THE BOUNDARY CURB WITH SUCH FORCE THAT IT SENT THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER SPRAWLING AND BENT THE STINGER 30 DEG TO THE RIGHT OF CENTER LINE. HERE THE RED PAINT FROM THE STRIPPED SCAR ON THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER MATCHED THE PAINT SMEAR ON THE STINGER. AT THIS POINT, THE COBRA WAS BACK IN THE SAME HEADING AS IT WAS WHEN PICKED UP TO THE HOVER PRIOR TO THE CLEARING TURN. THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER ROLLED OFF THE THROTTLE AND EXECUTED A HOVERING AUTOROTATION WITH NO FURTHER DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. THE ENGINE WAS SHUT DOWN AND THE AIRCRAFT SECURED UNTIL THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATING OFFICER ARRIVED ON THE SCENE.\\
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: 07/03/71
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
Number killed in accident = 2 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 1
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
Passengers:
UNK, LCO, G;
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 09/20/98
The following is crew member information for this incident:
The following is Goldbook
information on US Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 68-15185
It is provided here as an ESTIMATE of the history of this helicopter
and is not intended to be the final authority.
This helicopter was purchased by the US Army in 0769.
Please provide any additional information on this helicopter to the VHPA.
DATE FLT HRS UIC UNIT AREA POST COUNTRY 6907 1 1 W0MHAA DIR SUP / TRAN IN TRANSIT SHARPE AD AVCOM 6908 0 1 W0MHAA DIR SUP / TRAN IN TRANSIT SHARPE AD AVCOM 6909 0 1 W0MHAA DIR SUP / TRAN IN TRANSIT SHARPE AD AVCOM 6910 5 6 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 6911 61 67 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 6912 35 102 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7001 31 133 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7002 66 199 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7003 84 283 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7004 71 354 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7005 93 447 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7006 58 505 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7007 52 557 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7008 52 609 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7009 38 647 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7010 44 691 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7011 32 723 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7012 67 790 WFJ8A0 A 4-77ATY 101AC VIETNAM RVN 7101 37 827 WFJ8A0 A BTRY 4 77 ART VIETNAM RVN 7102 19 846 WFJ8A0 A BTRY 4 77 ART VIETNAM RVN 7103 74 920 WFJ8A0 A BTRY 4 77 ART VIETNAM RVN 7104 51 971 WFJ8A0 A BTRY 4 77 ART VIETNAM RVN 7105 89 1060 WFJ8A0 A BTRY 4 77 ART VIETNAM RVN 7106 79 1139 WFJ8A0 A BTRY 4 77 ART VIETNAM RVN
Please send additions or corrections to:
Gary Roush
43 Overbrook Road
Painted Post, NY 14870
Printed from databases on: 02/21/99
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