1967 — Oct 8, USAF turboprop flies into mountain near Huong Thuy, So. Vietnam –all 23

–23 Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF Hercules 8 Oct 1967, Vietnam.
–23 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 95.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Date: Sunday 8 October 1967
“Type: Lockheed C-130B Hercules
“Operator: United States Air Force
“Registration: 61-2649
“MSN: 3692
“First flight: 1962
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
“Passengers: Fatalities: 18 / Occupants: 18
“Total: Fatalities: 23 / Occupants: 23
….
“Location: 24 km (15 mls) SE of Hue-Phu Bai Airport (HUI) Vietnam
“Phase: En route
“Nature: Military
“Departure Airport: Hue-Phu Bai Airport…Vietnam
“Destination airport: Da Nang Airport…Vietnam
“Narrative: Crashed into a cloud-covered mountain in poor weather. The wreckage
was found two days later about 150 feet below the summit of the 1850 feet
high mountain.

Gero:
“Date: 8 October 1967 (c.09:40)
“Location: Near Huong Thuy, South Vietnam
“Operator: US Air Force
“Aircraft type: Lockheed C-130B (61-2649)

“In what was classified as a scheduled supply mission, the four-engine turboprop transport had been on an internal South Vietnamese flight to Da Nang when it crashed 15 miles (25km) east-south-east of the Hue/Phu Bai airfield, from where it had taken off about 10 minutes earlier. All 23 American servicemen aboard (18 passengers and a crew of five) perished. Proceeding under visual flight rules procedures in meteorological conditions consisting of a low overcast, with a visibility of around 5 miles (10km) and ground fog in the area, the aircraft struck a mountain at an approximate elevation of 1,700ft (520m), or only about 150 ft (50m) below the summit, while on an east-north-easterly heading.

“Impact was determined to have been with the aircraft in a level attitude and at a speed of approximately 290mph (465kph0, where-upon the C-130 exploded and disintegrated. The wreckage of 61-2649 was located two days later, but due to its location and the difficulty in maintaining security in an area of hostile action, no items could be removed from the site for further examination.” (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, pp. 95-96.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF Hercules 8 Oct 1967, Vietnam. Accessed 4-18-2022 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19671008-0

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