Crash of a Fairchild C-123B-18-FA Provider in Nakhon Phanom: 5 killed

Date & Time: Apr 12, 1963 at 1815 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-4380
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Nakhon Phanom – Udon Thani – Korat – Bangkok
MSN:
20264
YOM:
1956
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
After taking off from the airfield at Nakhon Phanom the pilot attempted to snare a red flag on top of a flag pole. Apparently, this trick had been attempted before by other C-123 crew based in Thailand. During the second attempt the left wing hit a house and the aircraft crashed killing all three crew and two Thai civilians on the ground. Nakhon Phanom Airfield in north-eastern Thailand, close to the border with Laos, was still under construction when the accident happened. It is possible that the C-123s were bringing in construction equipment or supplies.
Crew (777 TCS, 464 TCW):
1st Lt Raymond E. Doyle,
1st Lt Richard L. Hatlestad,
S/Sgt Stanley E. Truesdale.
Source: Vietnam Air Lossed by Chris Hobson.