Crash of a Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker at Kadena AFB: 12 killed

Date & Time: May 18, 1966 at 1200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
57-1444
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Kadena - Yokota
MSN:
17515
YOM:
1958
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
12
Aircraft flight hours:
3387
Circumstances:
The aircraft was engaged in a special flight from Kadena AFB to Yokota AFB, carrying a spare engine to repair another KC-135 grounded at Yokota Airbase. During the takeoff roll, after a course of 2,100 meters, the crew started the rotation when the airplane stalled and struck the runway surface before taking off again. Once it reached the height of 100 feet, it stalled again and crashed in a huge explosion 100 meters to the left of the extended centerline and about 150 meters past the runway end. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 11 occupants were killed as well as one motorist on the ground.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the total weight of the aircraft was high at the time of the accident and the pilot-in-command started the rotation prematurely, causing the aircraft to stall and to crash due to an insufficient takeoff speed.

Crash of a Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker in Amarillo: 5 killed

Date & Time: May 17, 1966 at 2145 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
57-1424
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Amarillo - Amarillo
MSN:
17495
YOM:
1958
Location:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Aircraft flight hours:
3482
Circumstances:
The crew was returning to Amarillo Airport following a four-hour refueling mission. On final approach, the aircraft was unstable and banked left and right when it stalled and crashed in flames few dozen yards short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all five crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
Oscillating and unstable approach for undetermined reason.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123B-13-FA Provider near An Khe: 5 killed

Date & Time: May 17, 1966
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
55-4534
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Nha Trang - Nha Trang
MSN:
20195
YOM:
1955
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The crew departed Nha Trang Airport for a night time mission to drop flares over friendly positions. While flying at an altitude of 6,500 feet, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire. The crew attempted to divert to the nearest suitable terrain when control was lost. The airplane crashed in flames, killing all five occupants.
Crew:
Cpt Stanley Gilbert Cox,
1st Lt Albert Richard Wilson,
M/Sgt Raymond Charles Jajtner,
A1C William John Moore,
A1C Jerry Mack Wall.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Douglas AC-47D Spooky near Ban Hai: 8 killed

Date & Time: May 15, 1966
Operator:
Registration:
43-49546
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Ubon Ratchathani - Ubon Ratchathani
MSN:
15362/26807
YOM:
1944
Flight number:
Spooky 10
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The crew departed Ubon Ratchathani Airbase in Thailand on a reconnaissance mission over Laos under call sign 'Spooky 10'. While cruising at low height, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in an isolated area located in the region of Ban Hai. Due to the situation, it was not possible to dispatch rescue teams and the wreckage was eventually found in August 1994 about 16 km southeast of Ban Hai.
Crew:
Maj George William Jensen,
Maj Lavern George Reilly,
Cpt Marshall Landis Tapp,
1st Lt George Winton Thompson,
S/Sgt James Arthur Preston,
Sgt James ellis Williams,
Sgt William Louis Madison,
A1C Kenneth Dewey McKenney.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Fairchild C-119CF-FA Flying Boxcar at Scott AFB

Date & Time: Apr 17, 1966
Operator:
Registration:
51-8019
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Scott - Scott
MSN:
10762
YOM:
1951
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
A Fairchild C-119CF-FA Flying Boxcar transport plane, 51·8019, had undergone a periodic inspection and was dispatched with a minimum crew for a Functional Check Fight (FCF). In the course of conducting checks at an altitude of 5000 feet, the no. 2 prop did not go into full feather. It continued to windmill. The crew then decided to return to Belleville-Scott AFB, IL (BLV) immediately. The pilot requested a straight-in approach to runway 31. Engine no. 2 was shut down and the plane was configured for landing. The airplane was high on the approach so the crew executed a go around and came in for a second approach. This time the airplane was slightly high and too fast so the pilot again called for a go around. During the transition from a high rate of descent to level flight for go around, the airspeed remained around 130 knots IAS. The captain raised the flaps from 40° to 20° and then reached for the gear up switch. The aircraft struck the runway and slid off the end into a grassy field. A fire that ensued after impact was contained by base crash and rescue crews.
Source: ASN

Crash of a Lockheed C-130B Hercules in Pleiku: 3 killed

Date & Time: Mar 29, 1966 at 1200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
61-0953
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Saigon – Pleiku
MSN:
3630
YOM:
1961
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
On final approach to Pleiku Airport by night, the aircraft struck the ground few hundred yards short of runway and came to rest. Three crew members were killed while two others were injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The crew was completing one of his first rotation on this airport at the time of the accident. Visibility was poor due to the night and marginal weather conditions.
Lt Col Lee Bernard Tate,
1st Lt John Lawrence Banks,
A1C Ronald Charles Logan.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130A Hercules in Tuy Hòa

Date & Time: Mar 26, 1966
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
56-0506
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
3114
YOM:
1957
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Due to a failure in the propeller pitch mechanism one of the engines' propellers could not be used to decelerate. The airplane swerved off the runway into a ditch, in an attempt to avoid a truck at the end of the runway. Damage was repairable, but the Hercules was damaged beyond repair when recovery crew attempted to tow the airplane using a tank and a steel cable through openings in the fuselage.
Source: Chris Hobson

Crash of a Lockheed C-130B Hercules near Bardufoss: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 20, 1966 at 0130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
61-2641
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Évreux - Bardufoss
MSN:
3677
YOM:
1962
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The C-130B, assigned to the 813th Tactical Carrier Wing at Forbes AFB, flew from Évreux AFB (Eure, France) to Bardufoss to pick up troops who would participate in the NATO exercise Winter Express. In snowy weather around freezing temperature with poor visibility the Hercules crashed into Svanfjellet west of Bardufoss at night at a height of 2,650 feet on the island of Senja while approaching Bardufoss Air Station. The crash killed the entire crew, five officers and two enlisted men.
Source: ASN
Probable cause:
According to the Accident Investigation Board, the ATC cleared the crew to descend to 6,000 feet when the crew of the plane repeated an incorrect height clearance. The radar controller at Bardufoss did not perceive the misunderstanding.

Crash of a Grumman HU-16B Albatross off Hải Phòng: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 14, 1966
Operator:
Registration:
51-071
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
G-151
YOM:
1952
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The HU-16B Albatross flying boat was deployed to rescue two crew members of a downed McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom off Haiphong in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Albatross landed in the sea close to the shoreline. It was quickly approached by several North Vietnamese boats. They began to open fire on the Albatross, finally firing a mortar shell. They flying boat burst into flames. The survivors were later rescued by Navy helicopters.
Crew:
Cpt David P. Westenbarger,
Lt Walter Hall,
Cpt Donald Price,
S/Sgt Clyde Jackson,
A1C Robert Larie Hilton, †
A1C James Edward Pleiman. †
Source: Chris Hobson & Joe Baugher.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Douglas AC-47D Spooky near A Rơh: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 13, 1966
Operator:
Registration:
43-49268
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Đà Nẵng - Đà Nẵng
MSN:
15084/26529
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The crew departed Đà Nẵng on a reconnaissance mission. Contact was lost few minutes after takeoff but it is believed the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and probably crashed in an isolated area located in the region of A Rơh, near the Laotian border, about 80 km southwest of Đà Nẵng. No trace of the aircraft nor the crew was ever found.
Crew:
Cpt Howard William Henninger,
Cpt Robert Edward Pasekoff,
Cpt Gerald Everett Olson,
S/Sgt Marshall Irvin Pauley,
S/Sgt Gene Edmond Davis,
T/Sgt Edwin Everton Morgan,
Sgt Dean Arnold Duvall.
Probable cause:
It is believed the aircraft has been shot down by enemy fire.