Incident Overview
Date: Sunday 12 May 1968
Aircraft Type: Lockheed C-130A Hercules
Owner/operator: United States Air Force – USAF
Registration Number: 56-0548
Location: Kham Duc –
ÿ Vietnam
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5
Component Affected: All four propellersAll four propellers
On May 12, 1968, after a prolonged North Vietnamese assault on the Kham Duc camp, U.S. forces initiated an immediate extraction due to the Army?s assessment of the camp?s vulnerability. Hercules 56-0548 approached the airstrip while under small arms fire, resulting in the loss of engine linkage and the pilot?s inability to control engine power.On May 12, 1968, after a prolonged North Vietnamese assault on the Kham Duc camp, U.S. forces initiated an immediate extraction due to the Army?s assessment of the camp?s vulnerability. Hercules 56-0548 approached the airstrip while under small arms fire, resulting in the loss of engine linkage and the pilot?s inability to control engine power.
Description
On 12 May 1968, shortly after 12:00 hours, the U.S. forces decided to immediately extract all personnel from the beleaguered Kham Duc camp, because the North Vietnamese Army had been attacking the camp for over a day. Hercules 56-0548 was approaching the airstrip while under small arms fire. The linkage to the power levers on all four engines was severed, so the pilot could not adjust engine power for landing. He feather all four propellers, landing at high speed. The airplane veered off the side of the runway where it struck the wreckage of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter that had been shot down earlier.
Source of Information
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857801156/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=aviationsafetyne&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1857801156http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857801156/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=aviationsafetyne&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1857801156Primary Cause
North Vietnamese attack and subsequent inability to control the aircraft.North Vietnamese attack and subsequent inability to control the aircraft.Share on:
