1966 – May 4, US Army Chinook helicopter rotor loss, crash, ~Di Linh, So. Vietnam –all 21

–30 Baugher, Joseph F. “1964 USAF Serial Numbers.” Last revised February 26, 2022.
–21 AP. “21 GIs Die in Viet Nam Coper Crash.” Stars and Stripes, Europe. 5-6-1966, 1.
–21 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 91.
–21 The Register, Santa Ana, CA. “Chinook Coper Crashes; 21 FIs Die in Viet Nam.” 5-5-1966, 1.
–21 Stars and Stripes, Pacific. “Red Fire Thwarts Rescue of Jet Pilot.” 5-7-1966, p. 6.
–21 UPI. “21 Americans Killed In Copter Crash.” Bucks County Courier, Bristol, PA, 5-5-1966, 1.
–21 UPI. “U.S. Jets 10 Miles From Haiphong.” Arizona Republic, Phoenix, 5-13-1966, p. 1.
–20 armyaircrews.com. “CH-47 Crews….04 May 66…Vietnam…147 ASHC #62-02121”
–20 Aviation Safety Network. US Army Boeing CH-47A Chinook Crash, 4 May 1966, Vietnam
–20 Chinook-helicopter.com. “64-13138.”

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Date: 4-May-1966
“Owner/operator: United States Army Aviation
“Registration: 64-13138
“MSN: B.110
“Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 20
“Other fatalities: 0
“Aircraft damage: Written off
“Location: near Di Linh, SVN – Vietnam
“Phase: En Route
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Nhon Co, SVN
Narrative: Crashed during combat mission 13 nm northwest of Nhon Co while
deployed to a forward base. All five crew and 15 passengers killed.”

Baugher: “13138 (B-110) accepted by the US Army Jul 8, 1965. Assigned to 147th Assault Support Helicopter Company “Hillclimbers” Crashed near Di Linh, SVN due to engine failure May 4, 1966. 3 crew and 27 passengers killed.” (Baugher. “1964 USAF Serial Numbers.” Last revised February 26, 2022.)

Chinook-helicopter.com: “64-13138, Boeing build number B-110, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 8 June 1965. The administrative strike date was 4 May 1966. 64-13138 accumulated 351.0 aircraft hours.

“On 4 May 1966, 64-13138, while assigned to the 147th Assault Support Helicopter Company (ASHC) – “Hillclimbers”, in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), was lost due to an accident. 64-13138 crashed during a combat mission 13 nautical miles northwest of Nhon Co while deployed to a forward base. All 20 personnel on board sustained fatal injuries.

“The passengers were from 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division. One of the passengers was the 1st Brigade’s Roman Catholic Chaplain, Major William J. Barragy.

“Eyewitnesses agreed, for the most part, that there were flames coming from the rear of the aircraft and it seemed to have no forward airspeed and was spinning and falling straight down. The technical report suggests that the combining transmission failed due to excessive heat and the resulting fire causing the number two engine drive shaft to separate. The fire may have been ingested into the remaining engine causing a loss of power, stability augmentation systems (SAS) and the aircraft electrical systems. There is evidence that the pilot attempted to flare the aircraft prior to impact to no avail. The aircraft crashed on its left side and was consumed by the post crash fire.

“Of the 20 personnel who received fatal injuries, 5 soldiers were from 147th ASHC….

“This aircraft was piloted by:
CW3 George A. Clark, Aircraft Commander, 1966 (KIA)
CW3 John A. Eddy, Aircraft Commander, 1966 (KIA)

“This aircraft was crewed by:
SP6 Edgar S. Doliber, Flight Engineer, 1966 (KIA)
SP5 Aaron B. Aumiller, Crew Chief, 1966 (KIA)
SP4 Fairley W. Mills, Door Gunner, 1966 (KIA)

“Passenger Fatalities
MAJ William J. Barragy (KIA)
PFC Roger L. Berg (KIA)
SSG John A. Brown (KIA)
PFC Robert L. Clark (KIA)
PFC Roger C. Collette (KIA)
SP4 John F. Concannon (KIA)
MSG J. D. Harrell (KIA)
SSG Gene Hawthorne (KIA)
PFC Malakia Jackson Jr. (KIA)
PFC Michael Simpson (KIA)
PFC Joseph J. Swayze (KIA)
PFC Robert E. Thompson (KIA)
SP4 Earnest A. Tucker Jr. (KIA)
1SG Harden B. Walker (KIA)
SP4 Howard D. Weiss (KIA)”

Gero:
“Date: 4 May 1966 (c08:00)
“Location: Near Di Linh, South Vietnam
“Operator: US Army
“Aircraft type: Boeing/Vertol CH-47A

“All 21 American servicemen aboard (17 passengers and a crew of four) were killed when the twin-rotor, turbine-engine helicopter crashed around 15 miles (25m) north-west of Nhon Co, from where it had taken off earlier, on a re-supply mission. As the aircraft approached its intended landing sit, located 110 miles (175km) north-east of Saigon, some US military personnel on the ground observed smoke and flames emanating from its aft portion. It then executed a series of turns to the left before plummeting vertically into a wooded area, while banked steeply to port, then exploded and burned. A portion of an aft main rotor blade measuring 12ft (3.5m) in length was found do have separated in flight. Blamed for the accident was the material failure of the aircraft’s No. 2 pinion drive shaft thrust bearing. The weather was not considered a factor.”

Newspapers

May 5: “Saigon, South Viet Nam – An Army helicopter carrying 21 U.S. servicemen crashed and burned Wednesday night in dense jungle about 110 miles northeast of Saigon. No survivors of the crew of five and 16 passengers have been found, a military spokesman said. The helicopter, a CH47 Chinook, crashed about 20 miles northwest of Gia Nghia. The spokesman said he did not know whether enemy fire or an operational failure caused the crash.

“The spokesman said the rough terrain made it impossible to send an air rescue team to the site, but that a platoon-size party reached the craft soon after midnight. The party was unable to approach the helicopter because of exploding ammunition, the spokesman said. He said reports from the scene said that no survivors had been found….” (The Register, Santa Ana, CA. “Chinook Coper Crashes; 21 FIs Die in Viet Nam.” 5-5-1966, 1.)

May 7: “Saigon….There was no groundfire reported in the area where an Army Chinook helicopter crashed Wednesday night and officials are seeking the cause. Twenty-one Americans died in the crash in heavy jungle about 20 miles northwest of Gia Nghia. The big copter exploded in the air and plummeted to the ground in a ball of flames, according to witnesses….” (Stars and Stripes, Pacific. “Red Fire Thwarts Rescue of Jet Pilot.” 5-7-1966, p. 6.)

May 13: “Saigon (UPI)….The Americans lost 82 men in combat and 21 in the crash of a giant Chinook helicopter, a total of 103….” (UPI. “U.S. Jets 10 Miles From Haiphong.” Arizona Republic, Phoenix, 5-13-1966, p. 1.)

Sources

armyaircrews.com. “CH-47 Crews….04 May 66…Vietnam…147 ASHC #62-02121” Accessed 5-2-2022 at: http://www.armyaircrews.com/chinook_nam.html

AP (Associated Press). “21 GIs Die in Viet Nam Coper Crash.” Stars and Stripes, Europe. 5-6-1966, p1. Accessed 5-2-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/european-stars-and-stripes-may-06-1966-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. US Army Boeing CH-47A Chinook Crash, 4 May 1966. Accessed 5-2-2022 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/76004

Baugher, Joseph F. “1964 USAF Serial Numbers.” Last revised February 26, 2022. Accessed 5-2-2022 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1964.html

Chinook-helicopter.com. “64-13138.” Accessed 5-2-2022 at: http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/history/aircraft/A_Models/64-13138/64-13138.html

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

Stars and Stripes, Pacific. “Red Fire Thwarts Rescue of Jet Pilot.” 5-7-1966, p. 6. Accessed 5-2-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/pacific-stars-and-stripes-may-07-1966-p-6/

The Register, Santa Ana, CA. “Chinook Coper Crashes; 21 FIs Die in Viet Nam.” 5-5-1966, 1. Accessed 5-2-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-register-may-05-1966-p-1/

UPI (United Press International). “21 Americans Killed In Copter Crash.” Bucks County Courier, Bristol, PA, 5-5-1966, 1. Accessed 5-2-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bristol-bucks-county-courier-may-05-1966-p-2/

UPI (United Press International). “U.S. Jets 10 Miles From Haiphong.” Arizona Republic, Phoenix, 5-13-1966, p. 1. Accessed 5-2-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/phoenix-arizona-republic-may-13-1966-p-94/