Helicopter
UH-1H 66-16496

Information on U.S. Army helicopter
UH-1H tail number 66-16496
The Army purchased this helicopter 0667
Total flight hours at this point: 00000469
Date: 02/17/68
Accident case number: 680217051
Unit: B/227 AVN
The station for this helicopter was English in
Number killed in accident = 0 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 0
costing 9941
Source(s) from which the incident was created or updated:
Army Aviation Safety Center database.

Crew Members:
AC W1 KULA BJ
P O1 LLOYD OI

Accident Summary:

Aircraft was brought to a hover in its revetment.
Aircraft yawed to the left causing tail rotor to strike an engineer stake.
Pilot cut the throttle and set the ship down tearing a hole in the fuselage
with another stake and skids
This record was last updated on 01/05/97

Information on U.S. Army helicopter
UH-1H tail number 66-16496
The Army purchased this helicopter 0667
Total flight hours at this point: 00000644
Date: 12/18/68
Incident number: 681218181ACD Accident case number: 681218181
Total loss or fatality Accident
Unit: 173 AVN
The station for this helicopter was Lai Khe in South Vietnam
Number killed in accident = 1 . . Injured = 4 . . Passengers = 1
costing 270954
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:
AC W1 DALBERG FE
P W1 TODD W
CE E4 MOSHER D
G SP4 OLSON RICHARD KIA

Passengers:
E4 DA DAVIS, PAX, D;

Accident Summary:

THE AIRCRAFT RETURNED FROM R&R AND WAS AT THE SAIGON HELIPORT
(HOTEL3). THE AIRCRAFT PROCEEDED TO HOTEL 3 AND PICKED UP
SP4 DAVIS AND TWO UNIDENTIFIED PASSENGERS WHO WERE GOING TO
PHU LOI. THE AIRCRAFT PROCEEDED TO PHU LOI AND MADE THE
PASSENGER DROP OFF. THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER NOTED THAT THE
FUEL GAUGE INDICATED APPROXIMATELY 300 POUNDS. KNOWING THAT
THE FLIGHT WOULD CONSUME, AT MOST, 100 POUNDS,
HE ELECTED TO RETURN TO LAI KHE WITH HIS PRESENT FUEL LOAD.

THE AIRCRAFT MADE A NORMAL TAKE OFF AND PROCEEDED TO LAI KHE.
APPROXIMATELY THREE MILES SOUTHEAST OF LAI KHE,
THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER INITIATED A CALL TO THE TOWER FOR LANDING.
PRIOR TO RECEIVING AN ANSWER, THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER NOTED
A LOSS IN RPM AND INITIATED AN AUTOROTATION TO A RICE PADDY
AND CALLED LAI KHE TOWER A SECOND TIME THAT HE WAS GOING DOWN
WITH AN ENGINE FAILURE. THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN WITH NO
APPARENT DAMAGE AND THE CREW CHIEF AND GUNNER DISMOUNTED
TO HELP THE PILOTS OUT AND SET UP DEFENSIVE POSITIONS.

AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, THE ENGINE CAME ON LINE
AND THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER REGAINED FULL USE OF THE ENGINE
AND 600 RPM. THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER AND PILOT BOTH OBSERVED
SEVERAL ^VIETNAMESE^ NATIONALS IN THE AREA AND AFTER THE ENGINE
HAD RETURNED TO 6600 RPM, DECIDED TO ATTEMPT TO FLY THE AIRCRAFT
TO EITHER A SECURE AREA ALONG ^ROUTE 13^ OR TO ^LAI KHE^.
HERE ARE CONFLICTING STATEMENTS AS TO THE LENGTH OF TIME
THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS ACTUALLY DOWN AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT.

IT IS THE BOARD'S OPINION THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS DOWN FOR A
CONSIDERABLY LONGER PERIOD BEYOND THE FIVE (5) SECONDS AS STATED
BY ^SP5 HOGAN^. BOTH THE DOOR GUNNER AND CREW CHIEF HAD TIME
TO OPEN THE PILOT'S DOORS AND REMOVE THEIR MACHINE GUNS PRIOR
TO THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDERS' DECISION TO TAKE OFF.
THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER PICKED THE AIRCRAFT UP TO A HOVER AND,
WITH ALL INSTRUMENTS IN THE GREEN, HE PROCEEDED TO ^LAI KHE^.
AT APPROXIMATELY 200 TO 300 FEET, THE ENGINE AGAIN LOST POWER
AND AN AUTOROTATION WAS INITIATED. THIS TIME, HOWEVER,
THE AIRCRAFT WAS OVER TREES AND AT APPROXIMATELY 30 FEET,
THE MAIN ROTOR MADE CONTACT, CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO HIT ON THE
LEFT SIDE AND ROLL OVER TWO OR THREE TIMES.

THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN REFUELED AT ^NHA BE^ AT ^1530 HOURS^ AND
HAD BEEN RUNNING FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO (2) HOURS
WHEN IT WENT DOWN. FUEL STARVATION WAS FIRST CONSIDERED,
HOWEVER, AFTER INTERVIEWING WITNESSES AND CREW,
IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF FUEL
ON THE GROUND AROUND THE CRASH SITE. THERE WAS, ALSO,
FUEL SPILLED FROM THE WRECKAGE WHEN IT WAS PICKED UP BY
THE RECOVERY AIRCRAFT AND THE POSSIBILITY OF FUEL STARVATION
WAS ELIMINATED. THE GUNNER HAD APPARENTLY NOT STRAPPED IN
AND WAS THROWN FROM THE AIRCRAFT AS SEAT BELTS ON THE
GUNNER'S SIDE WERE IN GOOD CONDITION AFTER THE CRASH
AND SHOWED NO SIGNS OF MALFUNCTION.

ANOTHER ^173RD^ ASSAULT HELICOPTER COMPANY AIRCRAFT
WAS WORKING THE ^LAI KHE^ TRAFFIC PATTERN AND HEARD THE
AIRCRAFT COMMANDER'S BROADCAST HE HAD LOST HIS ENGINE.
THIS AIRCRAFT DEPARTED THE TRAFFIC PATTERN AND CONTACTED ^496^
JUST AS HE WAS GOING DOWN THE SECOND TIME.
THE TRAINING AIRCRAFT AND A BULLDOG AIRCRAFT BOTH ARRIVED
AT THE SAME TIME AND PICKED UP THE INJURED, TAKING THEM TO THE
"DOCTOR DELTA" PAD AT ^LAI KHE^.

WHILE INVESTIGATING THE AIRCRAFT ^66-16496,^
THE INVESTIGATION BOARD FOUND: THE TAIL BOOM WAS SEVERED
AT IT'S BASE DUE TO THE AIRCRAFT STRIKING A TREE IMMEDIATELY
AFTER MAKING GROUND CONTACT. THE AIRCRAFT SLID AND ROLLED
FOR A DISTANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 150 FEET FROM THE POINT
OF INITIAL IMPACT WITH THE GROUND DURING WHICH TIME THE SKIDS
WERE TORN FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND THE MAIN ROTOR BECAME
SEPARATED FROM THE MAST. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST
IN AN INVERTED POSITION.

THE TRANSMISSION WAS THROWN FORWARD ON IMPACT AND
PUSHED FURTHER FORWARD, BY THE ROLLING OF THE AIRCRAFT,
TO AN ANGLE APPROXIMATELY 45 DEGREES FROM IT'S ORIGINAL POSITION.
THE UPPER FRONT AND LEFT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT COMMANDER'S
POSITION WERE DESTROYED, THE RIGHT FRONT AND OVERHEAD
PORTIONS OF THE PILOTS POSITION WERE CRUSHED IN DURING
THE ROLLING OF THE AIRCRAFT.\\

This record was last updated on 09/20/98
The following is crew member information for this incident:

Name: SP4 Richard Olson
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 12/18/68
while performing the duty of Gunner.
Age at death: 19.2
Date of Birth: 09/30/49
Home City: Dorchester, MA
Service: regular component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 173 AHC
Major organization: 1st Aviation Brigade
Service: U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 36W-041
Aircraft: UH-1H tail number 66-16496
Service number: 11618089
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 67A10 = Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: weapons
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: door gunner
Started Tour: 01/27/68
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
Length of service: 02
Location: Binh Duong Province III Corps.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Non-hostile - died illness or injuries
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Roman Catholic
The following information is secondary,
but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army:
non-battle dead Category of personnel:
active duty Army Military class: enlisted personnel
This record was last updated on 07/30/95

DATE  FLT HRS    UIC      UNIT          AREA          POST     COUNTRY
6706   0    0 W0MHAA DIROF SUP TRAN   6TH ARMY   SHARPE GD      AVCOM
6707   0    0 W0MHAA DIROF SUP TRAN   6TH ARMY   SHARPE GD      AVCOM
6708  67   67 WAAVB0 COB 227ABAH1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6709  68  135 WAAVB0 COB 227ABAH1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6710  49  184 WAAVB0 COB 227ABAH1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6711  84  268 WAAVB0 COB 227ABAH1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6712  65  333 WAAVB0 COB 227ABAH1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6801   0  333 WAAVB0 COB 227ABAH1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6802 136  469 WAAVB0 COB 227ABAH1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6803   0  469 WCLNAA 79 TRANS CO      VIETNAM                     RVN
6804   0  469 WCLNAA 79 TRANS CO      VIETNAM                     RVN
6805   0  469 WCLNAA 79 TRANS CO      VIETNAM                     RVN
6806   0  469 WCLNAA 79 TRANS CO      VIETNAM                     RVN
6807   0  469 WCLNAA 79 TRANS CO      VIETNAM                     RVN
6808  32  501 WCLNAA 79 TRANS CO      VIETNAM                     RVN
6809  12  513 WCLNAA 79 TRANS CO      VIETNAM                     RVN
6810  41  554 WCLNAA 79 TRANS CO      VIETNAM                     RVN
6811  15  569 WC41AA 173 ASLT HEL CO  VIETNAM                     RVN
6812  75  644 WC5DAA 605 TRANS CO DS  VIETNAM                     RVN