Taxiing

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

Suffered a ground accident at Tachikawa Airbase. No casualties.

While taxiing at Miami-Intl Airport, the four engine aircraft went out of control and came to rest into a ditch. All four crew members were unhurt while the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.

While rolling on a taxiway, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane sank on its belly and came to rest. All three technicians on board were uninjured while the aircraft christened 'Star of Chillon' was considered as damaged beyond repair.

Caught fire for unknown reason while taxiing. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

Following an uneventful flight from Beirut, the aircraft was taxiing to the parking when part of the taxiway collapsed, causing the airplane to strike the taxiway surface. This resulted in serious damage to the fuselage, propellers and engines. There were no injuries but the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.

Suffered a ground accident while taxiing at Newark Airport. There were no injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew (three engineers) were engaged in a series of ground tests. While rolling at high speed on a taxiway, control was lost. The airplane veered off taxiway to the left and eventually collided with trees. The airplane was damaged beyond repair while all three occupants were uninjured.

Following an uneventful flight from Ndola to Mweka, the Cogeair (Compagnie Générale Aérienne Africaine) twin engine airplane was taxiing when control was lost for unknown reason. The aircraft came to rest on its nose and was damaged beyond repair. All eight occupants were uninjured. The accident occurred between 04SEP1962 and 31DEC1962, thus the exact date remains unknown.

During the roll out, the left landing gear collapsed, resulting in substantial damage to the aircraft. Because of the remote location, the aircraft was declared not salveageable Nov 24, 1961.