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1968 Kham Duc C-130 shootdown

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US Air Force aviation disaster
1968 Kham Duc C-130 shootdown
A C-130B similar to the shot down aircraft at Tan Son Nhut AB in 1969
Shootdown
DateMay 12, 1968
SummaryAircraft shot down by North Vietnamese Army
SiteKham Duc Airstrip, Kham Duc, South Vietnam
15°26′18″N 107°47′49″E / 15.4382°N 107.7969°E / 15.4382; 107.7969
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLockheed C-130B Hercules
OperatorUnited States Air Force
Registration60-0297
Flight originKham Duc Airstrip, Kham Duc, South Vietnam
DestinationUnknown
Occupants155
Passengers150
Crew5
Fatalities155
Survivors0

A United States Air Force Lockheed C-130B Hercules aircraft was shot down on May 12, 1968, during the Battle of Kham Duc in Vietnam. Everyone on board, 150 Vietnamese civilians, one U.S. Special Forces officer, and 5 U.S. Air Force crewmen, were killed. At the time, it was the deadliest aircraft crash in history, is currently the deadliest aviation incident on Vietnamese soil, and remained the deadliest loss of a U.S. military aircraft until Arrow Air Flight 1285R in 1985.

The aircraft, commanded by Major Bernard L. Bucher, was participating in the evacuation of South Vietnamese civilians from the Kham Duc campsite that was under attack. The C-130 approached the Kham Duc airstrip from the south and managed to land despite taking hits from opposing North Vietnamese forces. As soon as it landed, 150 South Vietnamese rushed onto the aircraft. Once the aircraft was full, Major Bucher proceeded to take off in a northward direction, unaware that the North Vietnamese were concentrated in that area. According to eyewitness reports, the aircraft, under intense anti-aircraft fire from 12.7mm and 14.5mm heavy machine guns, shook violently out of control, crashed into a nearby ravine less than a mile (1.6 km) from the end of the airstrip, and burned, killing all of the evacuees, the Special Forces officer, and the aircraft's crew of five.

References

  1. ^ McLeroy, James D.; Sanders, Gregory W. (December 2, 2019). Bait: The Battle of Kham Duc. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1612008127.
  2. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Lockheed C-130B Hercules 60-0297 Kham Duc". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07.
  3. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Vietnam air safety profile". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07.
  4. Gropman, p. 50
  5. Bowers, p. 345
Aviation accidents and incidents in Vietnam
1960s
1970s
1990s
This includes the former South Vietnam
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1968 (1968)
Jan 6 Aeroflot Flight 1668Jan 21 Thule Air Base B-52 crashFeb 7 Indian Air Force An-12 crashFeb 16 Civil Air Transport Flight 10Feb 29 Aeroflot Flight 15Mar 6 Air France Flight 212Mar 9 Sainte-Marie Douglas DC-6 crashMar 24 Aer Lingus Flight 712Mar 27 Yuri Gagarin's MiG-15 crashMar 27 Ozark Air Lines Flight 965Apr 5 Hawker Hunter Tower Bridge incidentApr 8 BOAC Flight 712Apr 20 South African Airways Flight 228May 3 Braniff Flight 352May 12 Kham Duc C-130 shootdownMay 22 Los Angeles Airways Flight 841May 28 Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892Jul 1 Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253AJul 3 BKS Air Transport Flight C.6845Jul 23 El Al Flight 426 hijackingAug 14 Los Angeles Airways Flight 417Sep 11 Air France Flight 1611Oct 25 Northeast Airlines Flight 946Nov 22 Japan Air Lines Flight 2Nov 24 Pan Am Flight 281Dec 2 Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55Dec 12 Pan Am Flight 217Dec 24 Allegheny Airlines Flight 736Dec 26 El Al Flight 253Dec 26 Pan Am Flight 799Dec 27 North Central Airlines Flight 458Dec 27 Ozark Air Lines Flight 982Dec 31 MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750
1967   ◄    ►   1969


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