Crash of a Lockheed C-130B Hercules in Pleiku: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jan 6, 1966
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
61-0972
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Saigon – Pleiku
MSN:
3669
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
On final approach to Pleiku Airport, at an altitude of 1,200 feet, the airplane was hit by enemy fire and crashed about 5 km from the airfield. All five crew members were killed. The airplane was performing a flight from Saigon-Tan Son Nhat Airport, carrying a load of 30,000 pounds of detonators.
Crew (463 TCW Mactan, Philippines):
Cpt Richard Joseph Callanan,
Cpt Lee Christopher Dixon,
1st Lt Jon Alfred Greenley,
S/Sgt James Robert Lute,
A2C Lowell Franklin White.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123B-18-FA Provider at Tánh Linh AFB

Date & Time: Jan 4, 1966 at 1200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-4369
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
20253
YOM:
1956
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Following a flare-dropping mission, the crew was returning to Tánh Linh Airbase when an engine failed on landing. The airplane went out of control and crashed. All five crew members were injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Engine failure on landing.

Crash of a De Havilland CV-2B Caribou in Shau Valley

Date & Time: Dec 31, 1965
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
62-4148
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
MSN:
84
YOM:
1963
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in the Shau Valley following an engine failure. The exact date of the occurrence remains unknown (crashed somewhere in 1965) as well as the occupant's fate.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130E Hercules in Tuy Hòa: 5 killed

Date & Time: Dec 20, 1965
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
62-1843
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Nha Trang – Tuy Hòa
MSN:
3123
YOM:
1957
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The aircraft was attempting to land at Tuy Hòa Airport under a very low cloud base when it was hit by ground fire 8 km south of the airbase and crashed killing all five crew members. The airplane, based at Nha Trang, was bringing in a load of 13 tons of aviation fuel and it was 1st Lt Smith's first mission as aircraft commander. Enemy action was never actually confirmed to have caused the loss of this aircraft which may simply have flown into high ground in poor visibility. For some reason the remains of 1st Lt Wax were not recovered and identified until December 1996.
Crew:
1st Lt Donald Clayton Smith,
1st David J. Wax,
Cpt Terry Fisher Katterhenry,
T/Sgt William Henry Crisp,
A1C Willie Mitchell.
Source: Chris Hobson

Crash of a Douglas AC-47D Spooky in Vietnam: 9 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1965
Operator:
Registration:
43-49492
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Saigon – Phan Rang
MSN:
15308/26753
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The aircraft went missing during a night cross country courier flight between Saigon and Phan Rang. The wreckage was found on 23 December and the indications were that the aircraft had been shot down by ground fire. All nine crew members were killed.
Crew:
Maj Robert William Abbot,
Maj Robert Lloyd Abernathy,
1st Lt Francis Richard Buckley,
M/Sgt Joseph Anthony Cestaric,
T/Sgt John Monroe Chappell,
T/Sgt Thomas Newton Sloan,
S/Sgt Ralph Leon Hinson,
A1C Claude Wesley Matthews,
A1C Johnson Ashley Meade.
Probable cause:
Shot down.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123B-18-FA Provider near Tuy Hòa: 85 killed

Date & Time: Dec 11, 1965 at 1500 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-4376
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Pleiku – Tuy Hòa
MSN:
20260
YOM:
1956
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
81
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
85
Circumstances:
While descending to Tuy Hòa Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with rain falls. While flying at low height, the airplane struck tree tops then stalled and crashed in a dense wooded area located about 30 km east of the Tuy Hòa Airfield. As the airplane crashed in an enemy zone, it was not possible to intervene immediately and the first rescuers reached the crash site two weeks later only. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 85 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the ceiling was down to 50 feet from the ground and the crew was apparently not aware of his too low altitude.
Crew:
Maj Robert Milvoy Horsky,
Cpt George Parker McKnight,
S/Sgt Mercedes Perez Salinas,
S/Sgt Donald David Stewart.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130A Hercules in Chu Lai

Date & Time: Dec 8, 1965
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-0502
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
3110
YOM:
1957
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew elected to takeoff from Chu Lai Airbase with one engine inoperative. The airplane stalled and crashed. All five crew members were slightly injured and the aircrarft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Error on part of the crew who decided to takeoff with one engine inoperative.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123K Provider in South Vietnam

Date & Time: Nov 29, 1965
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
54-0651
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
20100
YOM:
1954
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While on a supply mission, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed somewhere in South Vietnam. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were injured.
Crew:
Cpt J. T. Rutledge,
1st Lt T. O. Norris.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123B-13-FA Provider in Đà Nẵng

Date & Time: Nov 21, 1965
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
55-4530
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
20191
YOM:
1955
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was returning to Đà Nẵng Airport following a supply mission. On final approach in darkness, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls and high winds when one of the engine failed. The airplane stalled and crashed in a minefield located 1,6 km short of runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all seven crew members were injured, some of them badly.
Probable cause:
Engine failure on final approach in poor weather conditions.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123B-19-FA Provider in Saigon

Date & Time: Oct 30, 1965
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-4381
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
20265
YOM:
1956
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
During the takeoff roll at Saigon-Tan Son Nhat Airport, the captain decided to abandon the departure and started an emergency braking procedure. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran and came to rest. All four crew members were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.