Đà Nẵng

While flying at a height of 150 feet on a supply mission, the airplane was hit by enemy artillery and crashed in flames in a dense wooded area. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt Col Everett Edward Foster,
Maj Allan Julius Stearns,
Maj Donald Thomas Steinbrunner,
S/Sgt Irvin Grant Weyandt,
Sgt Le Tan Bo.

The crew departed Andersen AFB, Guam, on a bombing mission over the A Shau Valley. While overflying the region of Vinh, the electrical system failed, causing some of the hydraulic systems to fail as well. The captain decided to divert to Đà Nẵng Airport for an emergency landing. As the crew was unable to deploy the flaps, the captain attempted a go-around. Few minutes later, he completed a flapless landing on runway 17L. The B-52 touched down 1,000 feet past the runway threshold. After a course of 6,000 feet, it overran at a speed of 100 knots, struck a drainage ditch and came to rest in a landmine and exploded. The gunner was rescued while all five other crew members were killed in the crash.
Crew:
Maj Gene Wesley Brown, †
Cpt James Thomas Davis, †
Cpt Anthony Kent Johnson, †
Cpt William Henry Pritchard, †
Cpt Donald J. Reynolds, †
Albert Whatley.

While on a gunship support missions to outposts, the Spooky was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in a dense wooded area, killing all seven crew members.
Crew:
Cpt William Hadley Hosea,
Cpt Herbert Charles Rice,
Cpt John Bishop Cabana,
S/Sgt John Larue Brim,
S/Sgt James Lewis Fields,
T/Sgt Guy Joseph Brungard,
A1C Robert Edwin Ruonavaara.

Few minutes after his takeoff from Đà Nẵng Airport, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls due to monsoon storm. The twin engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain and crashed few km from the airport, killing all nine occupants, among them seven educators and a member of the USAID.

Some of the bases in South Vietnam were among the world's busiest airfields during the height of the war in Southeast Asia. The number of aircraft movements at bases like Đà Nẵng and Saigon-Tan Son Nhat Airport equalled or exceeded those at major US and European airports. With the huge amount of activity involved it is inevitable that accidents should sometimes occur on the ground. The worst such accident happened in the early hours of 23 March and involved a Marine Corps A-6, which was taking off from Đà Nẵng on a strike mission, and a MAC C-141 Starlifter. The air traffic controller had cleared the Intruder to take off but also unwittingly cleared the C-141 to cross the runway. The Intruder pilot saw the Starlifter at the last moment and tried to veer off the runway to avoid it but the Intruder's port wing sliced through the Starlifter's nose. The Intruder sumersalted onto its back and continued down the runway. The pilot and navigator miraculously escaped death and crawled through their smashed canopy. The aircraft was carrying 16x500lbs bombs and six rocket packs, some of which later exploded in the fire. The C-141 immediately burst into flames igniting its cargo of 72 acetylene gas cylinders, which resulted in a tremendous explosion. All the Starlifter crew died except the loadmaster who managed to escape from one of the aft doors before the aircraft exploded. The identity of the crewmen who survived remains unknown.
Crew:
Cpt Harold Leland Hale,
Cpt Leroy Edward Leonard,
Cpt Max Paul Starkel,
S/Sgt Alanson Garland Bynum,
S/Sgt Alfred Funck.
Source: Chris Hobson

While on defoliation mission, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed 8 km southwest of Xepon. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Roy Robert Kubley,
Maj Lloyd Francis Walker,
Cpt Harvey Mulhauser,
Lt Howard Leroy Barden,
A1C Ronald Kazuo Miyazaki.

While cruising in poor weather conditions, the single engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain located 11 km west of Chu Lai. All five occupants were killed.

The crew departed Đà Nẵng Airport on a target reconnaissance, carrying a crew of seven. While cruising by night at low altitude and low speed, the airplane was hit by enemy fire and crashed near Đức Phổ. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Charles William Robertson,
1st Lt James Donald Goodman,
Maj Joseph E. Wilkinson,
S/Sgt Raymond Medina,
S/Sgt Cecil Truman Thompson,
A1C Dana Richard Kelley,
A2C Lonny Leroy Mitzel.

The crew was completing a cargo flight from Tachikawa AFB to Đà Nẵng on a subcontract mission for the US Air Force, carrying various equipments and goods. On final approach to Đà Nẵng Airport by night, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls and fog. In low visibility, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck an obstacle, stalled and crashed in flames in the district of Binh Thai located few dozen yards short of runway. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and several houses were destroyed. All four crew members were killed as well as 107 people on the ground. 50 others were injured, among them 19 seriously.

Crashed whilst serving with the 138th Aviation Company. The pilot, US Army Capt. Harry M. Ravenna, and passenger, US Marine Corps Cpl. John C. Keiper, were-on a routine flight from Dong Ha to Da Nang. Keiper while assigned to Helicopter Attack Maintenance Squadron 16, Marine Air Group 16. Their role on this mission is unclear from public record. Ravenna was assigned to the 138th Aviation Company, 224th U.S. Army Security Agency Battalion (Aviation), U.S. Army Security Agency Group, Vietnam. All missions of this agency were-highly classified during the war and secret cover designations (Radio Research Units) were-used instead of the actual unit designations on station lists and reports. The 138th was based at Da Nang. Ravenna filed a VFR (visual flight rules) flight plan, but ran into poor weather conditions. He radioed Dong Ha and requested radar guidance. At 14:30 hours, he passed into Da Nang airfield radar control and radioed, “Lonely Ranger 723, heading 125, at 3,000 feet, estimating Da Nang at 40, request radar. Presently on instruments.” Having trouble bringing him onto radar screen, Da Nang instructed Ravenna to activate his transponder, but this did not improve radar contact, so they asked his location, which he gave as 45 nautical miles from Dong Ha. Da Nang instructed him to re-contact Dong Ha (believing he was out of Da Nang range and still in that of Dong Ha). Ravenna acknowledged the transmission; radio contact was broken, and never resumed. Ravenna and Keiper were-last believed to be in South Vietnam about halfway between Da Nang and the city of Hue. Later investigation concluded that on his present course, had it been followed, Ravenna’s aircraft would have impacted with the side of a mountain in that vicinity. The hostile threat in the area prevented extensive search, and all efforts to discover the status of Ravenna and Keiper have failed.
Crew:
Cpt Harry M. Ravenna.
Passenger:
Cpl John C. Keiper.
Source: http://www.dhc-2.com/cn872.html