Crash of a Boeing 727-121C in Phan Rang: 75 killed

Date & Time: Sep 15, 1974 at 1100 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
XV-NJC
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Đà Nẵng – Saigon – Singapore
MSN:
19819
YOM:
1968
Flight number:
VN706
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
67
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
75
Circumstances:
En route from Đà Nẵng to Saigon, while cruising at an altitude of 26,000 feet, three guys entered the cockpit and ordered the pilot to divert to Hanoi. The captain tried to explain that this was not possible and that he should perform an intermediate stop at Phan Rang Airport. Shortly later, two hand grenades exploded in the front part of the cabin, causing major damages to the aircraft control systems. While approaching Phan Rang Airport, at a height of 1,000 feet, the airplane entered a nose-down attitude then crashed in a huge explosion in a rice paddy field located few km from the runway threshold. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 75 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The airplane became uncontrollable and crashed following a hijacking situation and the explosion of two hand grenades on board.

Crash of a Fairchild UC-123K Provider in Phan Rang: 5 killed

Date & Time: Feb 10, 1971
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-4373
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Phan Rang - Phan Rang
MSN:
20257
YOM:
1956
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
While completing a spraying mission against malarial mosquitoes, the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances near Phan Rang. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Charles Milton Deas,
1st Lt Richard William O'Keefe,
Lt Col Daniel Harrison Tate,
M/Sgt Donald Louis Dunn,
T/Sgt Clyde Wendell Hanson.
Probable cause:
Crew error.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123K Provider near Cam Ranh Bay: 42 killed

Date & Time: Nov 29, 1970 at 0735 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
54-0649
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Phan Rang - Cam Ranh Bay
MSN:
20098
YOM:
1954
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
39
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
42
Circumstances:
Ten minutes after his departure from Phan Rang Air Base, the pilot started the descent to Cam Ranh Bay via a steep valley (3 km wide and 15 km long) at an altitude of 2,700 feet via heading 30°. Shortly later, ATC instructed the crew to change heading to 100° when contact was lost. The airplane struck trees with its both wings, stalled and crashed in flames in a dense wooded area located few km from Cam Ranh Bay Airport. Rescuers arrived on the scene five days later and found two men still alive while 42 other occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was nil due to low clouds.
Crew:
Cpt Cecil Gerald Moyer,
Cpt Norbert Albert Podhajsky,
1st Lt James Francis Saxby,
S/Sgt Grayson Henry Newberry,
S/Sgt Harry Allen Watson.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123K Provider in Cam Ranh Bay: 3 killed

Date & Time: Aug 10, 1970
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
55-4527
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Phan Rang – Cam Ranh Bay
MSN:
20188
YOM:
1955
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
While approaching Cam Ranh Bay Airport on a flight from Phan Rang, an engine failed. The crew lost control of the airplane that crashed few km from the airfield. A crew member survived while three others were killed.
Crew:
Maj Grant Reed Waugh, †
Cpt Dwaine Elbyrne Mattox, †
T/Sgt Bernard Francis Morrill, †
+ one crew, name unknown.
Probable cause:
Loss of control caused by an engine failure on approach.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123K Provider in Phan Rang

Date & Time: Jan 3, 1970
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
54-0688
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
20137
YOM:
1954
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On touchdown at Phan Rang Airport, the nose gear collapsed. The airplane slid for dozen yards, overran and came to rest. All five crew members were uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Failure of the nose gear upon landing for undetermined reason.

Crash of a Douglas AC-47D Spooky near Phan Rang: 8 killed

Date & Time: Feb 15, 1968
Operator:
Registration:
43-49859
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
15675/27120
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
While conducting a night supply mission, the airplane was hit by enemy fire and crashed in flames 8 km south of Phan Rang Airbase. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt Col Karl Merritt Waldron,
Cpt Edward Beeding Quill,
Cpt Thomas Joseph Margle,
S/Sgt Warren Mitchell Dixon,
S/Sgt Robert Kiyoshi Kawamura,
S/Sgt Roger Gail Lee,
Sgt James Harvey Bennett,
Sgt Brent Tosh.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123K Provider in Saigon: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 25, 1967
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
54-0667
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Saigon - Phan Rang
MSN:
20116
YOM:
1954
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
As the aircraft was about to take off for its return flight to Phan Rang, the pilot saw a huge thunderstorm directly in its path and decided to abort the flight. He was observed to taxi along the runway to return to the parking area and had covered about 2,000 feet when the tower warned him to clear the runway immediately. However, before the Provider could turn off the runway it was hit by a Thunderchief as it landed in poor visibility. The F-105's starboard wing sliced through the left side of the C-123's fuselage and the jet's fuselage tore off both the Provider's engines from its port wing. The Thunderchief pilot died in the collision and the burning aircraft tumbled down the runway for another 5,000 feet. All the C-123 crew escaped with burns, although one of them died from his injuries few days later.
Source: Chris Hobson

Crash of a Douglas DC-3 in Vietnam: 16 killed

Date & Time: Oct 24, 1967
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
B-1541
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Phan Rang - Pleiku
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
13
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
16
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Vietnam while completing a flight from Phan Rang to Pleiku. All 16 occupants were killed.

Crash of a Douglas VC-47J in Phan Rang: 25 killed

Date & Time: Mar 10, 1967 at 1620 LT
Operator:
Registration:
99844
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cam Ranh Bay – Saigon
MSN:
16519/33267
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
21
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
25
Circumstances:
Crash in unknown circumstances near Phan Rang while completing an administrative service from Cam Ranh Bay to Saigon. All 25 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Lt Cdr Leo Claude Hester,
Lt Cdr Robert George Kerr,
AN Francis Raymond Ferron,
ADR2 Cecil Leroy Chapman.

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.