Crash of a Lockheed C-130E Hercules in Piggott: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jul 30, 1970
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
62-1802
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Little Rock-Jacksonville - Little Rock-Jacksonville
MSN:
3756
YOM:
1962
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The crew departed Little Rock-Jacksonville AFB for a local training mission when the airplane crashed in flames in a prairie located southwest of Piggott. All six crew members were killed.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-85-DL in South Vietnam: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 17, 1970
Operator:
Registration:
43-15583
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
20049
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in South Vietnam while completing a local training mission. The crew lost control of the airplane following an in-flight engine failure. A crew member was killed while three others were injured.
Probable cause:
Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Fairchild AC-119K Stinger into the South China Sea: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jun 6, 1970
Operator:
Registration:
52-5935
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Đà Nẵng - Đà Nẵng
MSN:
11114
YOM:
1952
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
En route on a night gunship mission, the captain informed ground that he lost a propeller blade on the left engine. He elected to return to Đà Nẵng Airport but eventually decided to continue over the South China Sea where all 10 crew members abandoned the aircraft that crashed into the sea. Nine occupants were found alive while the body of the 10th crew member (T/Sgt Clyde Douglas Alloway) was not recovered.
Probable cause:
Lost of propeller blade in flight.

Crash of a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy at Palmdale AFB

Date & Time: May 25, 1970
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
67-0172
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
500-0011
YOM:
1970
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While taxiing at Palmdale AFB, the airplane caught fire. The crew immediately stopped then airplane on the taxiway and was able to evacuated the cabin. The aircraft was totally destroyed after 45 minutes of an intense fire. The cause remains unknown.

Crash of a Convair T-29D near Hamilton AFB: 13 killed

Date & Time: May 4, 1970 at 0804 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
52-5822
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Hamilton - Spokane
MSN:
52-21
YOM:
1954
Flight number:
Visco 57
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from runway 30 at Hamilton AFB (Novato, CA), the crew was cleared to climb at his discretion, following heading 360 till 2,600 feet then heading 340. Few seconds later, the airplane struck trees and crashed on a mountain slope located eight miles from the airbase. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. A passenger was seriously injured while 13 other occupants were killed. The crew from the 26th Division was completing a flight to Spokane, Washington. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were considered as good with three cloud layers at 900, 15,000 and 25,000 feet, a visibility of about 8 miles and a light wind from 340 at 2 knots.
Probable cause:
A second flight was completed in similar conditions few hours later and the investigators were unable to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123B Provider at Santa Bernardina AFB: 17 killed

Date & Time: Apr 30, 1970 at 1230 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Santa Bernardina - Santa Bernardina
Country:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
13
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
17
Circumstances:
The airplane arrived in the morning from Montevideo-Carrasco and its crew already completed several sortie in the morning. Around noon, 13 officers of the Uruguayan Army embarked the airplane and the crew was supposed to make a demonstration flight, proving the manoeuvrability of the airplane. While flying at low height, the airplane struck a tree and crashed in a huge explosion near the runway 27 threshold. A passenger was seriously injured (burned) while 16 other occupants were killed. Few hours later, the only survivor died from his injuries. Among the passengers was Col Américo Gonzalez, Chief of the Santa Bernardina Airbase.
Crew:
Maj William Kern, pilot,
Cpt Richard Morris, copilot,
S/Sgt José Rivera,
Sgt Alfred Ford.
Passengers:
Col Américo Gonzalez,
Maj Roberto Dego,
Maj Ibes Tinetti,
Cpt Heráclio Abelleira,
1st lt Manuel Villamil,
2nd Lt Rolando Paller,
2nd Lt Dámaso Sosa,
2nd Lt Mario Scarzella,
Ens Ricardo Rodríguez,
Ens Héctor Angellini,
Ens Rubén Spinelli,
Ens José Suárez,
Ens Rubén Feria.

Crash of a Fairchild AC-119G Flying Boxcar in Saigon: 6 killed

Date & Time: Apr 27, 1970
Operator:
Registration:
53-8155
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
258
YOM:
1953
Flight number:
Shadow 78
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Saigon-Tan Son Nhat Airport, while in initial climb at a height of 100 feet, one of the engine failed. The airplane stalled and crashed about 3 km from the airfield. Six crew members were killed while two others were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Crew:
1st Lt Thomas Lambert Lubbers,
1st Lt Charles Milford Knowles,
Maj Meredith Glenn Anderson,
Maj Robert Bokern,
M/Sgt Joseph Cobden Jeszeck,
S/Sgt Allen Chandler,
S/Sgt Robert Frederick Fage,
Sgt Michael J. Vangelisti.
Probable cause:
Engine failure during initial climb.

Crash of a Douglas EC-47P near Huế: 2 killed

Date & Time: Apr 22, 1970
Operator:
Registration:
43-48402
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
14218/25663
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
While in a mission in the A Shau Valley at an altitude of 5,500 feet, the aircraft was hit by enemy fire. An engine was losing oil and the crew decided to return to Huế Airport. Unable to maintain the minimum prescribed altitude, the captain elected to make an emergency landing when the airplane crashed 32 km southwest of Huế. The captain and the flight engineer were killed while seven other occupants were injured.
Those killed were:
1st Lt George M. Wall,
S/Sgt Michael R. Conner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Lockheed AC-130A Spectre near Ban Tan Lo: 10 killed

Date & Time: Apr 22, 1970
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
54-1625
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Ubon Ratchathani - Ubon Ratchathani
MSN:
3012
YOM:
1957
Flight number:
Adlib 1
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
11
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
While in a commando mission along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the airplane was hit by enemy fire. A fire erupted on the left wing root and the crew was unable to extinguish the fire. A crew member (S/Sgt Eugene Fields) was able to bail out and was later recovered uninjured while the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed, killing all 10 other occupants.
Crew:
Maj William Leslie Brooks, †
1st Lt John Cline Towle, †
Lt Col Charlie Brown Davis, †
Lt Col Charles Stoddard Rowley, †
Maj Donald Garth Fisher, †
M/Sgt Robert Newell Ireland, †
S/Sgt Thomas Yuji Adachi, †
S/Sgt Eugene Fields,
S/Sgt Stephen Warren Harris, †
S/Sgt Ronnie Lee Hensley, †
A1C Donald Michael Lint. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Rockwell T-39A-1-NA Sabreliner in Weldon: 4 killed

Date & Time: Apr 16, 1970 at 1000 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
61-0640
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
MacDill - Shaw - Langley
MSN:
265-43
YOM:
1962
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed McDill AFB, Florida, on a flight to Langley AFB. After a technical stop at Shaw AFB located in Sumter, the crew continued bound to the north. About 20 minutes prior to its arrival at Langley AFB, while in cruising level, the airplane collided with a USAF Douglas TA-4F Skyhawk. Both aircraft went out of control, entered a dive and crashed in the region of Weldon. All six crew members on both aircraft were killed.