All Vietnam | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

While flying along the South Vietnam coast, the crew informed ground that an engine caught fire. Control was lost and the airplane crashed into the sea. A crew member was rescued while two others died.
Those killed were:
Lt Cdr Robert Eugene Robinson,
Ens John Wesley Coghill.

Probable cause:

Engine fire in flight.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123B-18-FA Provider in South Vietnam

Date & Time: Jan 4, 1967

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-123 Provider

Operator:

Registration:

56-4372

Flight Phase:

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MSN:

20256

YOM:

1956

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Crashed in unknown circumstances in South Vietnam, injuring all five crew members.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B in South Vietnam

Date & Time: Nov 11, 1966

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

43-48961

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

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Site:

MSN:

14777/26222

YOM:

1944

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The aircraft was used in psychological warfare role. It was fitted with loudspeakers for the delivery of propaganda messages. In flight, an engine failed, forcing the crew to attempt an emergency landing in an open field. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair while all four crew members were rescued.

Probable cause:

Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Grumman S2F-3 Tracker into the Gulf of Tonkin: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1966

Type of aircraft:

Grumman S-2 Tracker

Operator:

Registration:

149252

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

MSN:

YOM:

1957

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On the night of 21/22 January 1966, the Tracker was launched from USS Hornet to provide surveillance cover for the SAR destroyers that operated close to the North Vietnamese coastline and which were occasionally challenged by enemy patrol boats and small craft. Under the control of a guided missile destroyer, the USS Berkeley, the Tracker was investigating an unidentified radar screen. Within a few hours of the aircraft's disappearance Hanoi Radio reported that a US aircraft had been shot down in the Gulf of Tonkin to the south of Bach Long Vi Island. The time was good at the time of the loss and the sea was very calm, which might have made depth perception difficult for the crew. An extensive search was conducted in the Gulf for days, afterwards and on 1 February a four-man liferaft from the Tracker was picked up some 150 miles from the aircraft's last known position. On 14 March Lt Templin's flying helmet was found in the same area as the raft. However, no trace of the crew was ever found and they were all declared dead in 1975.
Crew:
Lt William Stannard Forman,
Lt Erwin Bernard Templin,
SN Edmund Henry Frenyea,
SA Robert Russell Sennett.
Source: Chris Hobson

Crash of a Douglas AC-47D Spooky in Vietnam: 9 killed

Date & Time: Dec 17, 1965

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

43-49492

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Saigon – Phan Rang

MSN:

15308/26753

YOM:

1944

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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.

Crash of a Fairchild C-123K Provider in South Vietnam

Date & Time: Nov 29, 1965

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-123 Provider

Operator:

Registration:

54-0651

Flight Phase:

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Site:

MSN:

20100

YOM:

1954

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While on a supply mission, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed somewhere in South Vietnam. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were injured.
Crew:
Cpt J. T. Rutledge,
1st Lt T. O. Norris.

Probable cause:

Shot down by enemy fire.