THE LAST FLIGHT OF A/C 67-18445 CH-47B CHINOOK
The summer of 1996 found me and my wife Pat at our first BOXCAR reunion in Reno, Nevada. I very much enjoyed meeting people who had also served with the 178th ASHC. The unit historian had made available to all of us the unit history in written form. As I looked through the rather large but well done document, I came upon an article submitted by Vincent Cassano describing the last flight of Army Helicopter 67-18445. As the only crew member to survive the last flight, I noticed there were a few discrepancies in the story by Vincent. I promised to write the story from my point of view and send it to our unit historian. So almost twenty-eight years to the date later, here are my recollections, feelings, and thoughts about August 26, 1970, and the last flight of Army Helicopter 67-18445. The 23rd Infantry "Americal" Division had ordered the withdrawal of troops from a place called Kham Duc. The operation was fairly large using all the aircraft we could operate that day ( I think the 178th provided seven or eight). CW2 Dan York was the Aircraft Commander, I was "Peter" Pilot, and SP4s Jole York, George Tifft, and Hima McDougall rounded out our flight crew. The day was a normal day starting out at the usual "O dark- thirty". Our mission was to participate in the extraction of US forces from Kham Duc. We would be one of many aircraft flying in and out of Kham Duc airstrip that day. As I remember it, we had completed a couple of sorties in the morning. The distance involved allowed us two trips before we required fuel. Sometime after noon we refueled and served a C ration lunch at the Hawk Hill refueling point. As we closed with the operational area we were informed that we would be the last Chinook in and out of Kham Duc. Our job was to extract the remaining infantry perimeter security force. We were provided B model Huey gun cover and a slick to carry any overflow. During extractions we did not manifest our passengers so I don't know exactly how many infantry we had on board ( the estimate was 20 or so). I did look back after loading and we had a full boat of troops to include the normal infantry carry-on equipment, ruck sacks, ammo cans, 105mm rounds in cartons, etc. Dan York elected to perform a running takeoff. I coordinated with the Huey and the gun cover and we were off. Dan did a great job and we passed 100 kts prior to the end of the runway. Dan eased back on the cyclic, increased power to military and we very quickly climbed to 4000 feet. The trip to LZ Judy was routine. As we closed on LZ Judy we were informed by the mission commander we were number seven for landing. It was like a major US airport! We were actually in holding patterns awaiting our turn to land. The touch down pad at LZ Judy allowed only one way in if you were at max and needed to make an approach straight to the ground. As a crew we discussed our options, decided our flight path, and cautioned each other to keep a sharp look out. After having watched six other Chinooks approach, land, and discharge their troops and cargo, we were cleared to land. On final I completed the prelanding check as Dan expertly guided 445 to the pad. About 200 yards out with approximately 150 feet of altitude I heard a loud bang in the back of the aircraft. I looked to the back as Dan York calmly but forcefully said "damn!" The urgency of his voice caused me to return my attention to the cockpit. As I did so I was astonished to see the master caution light on as well as what appeared to be the majority of the caution panel lit like a Christmas Tree. I could see that we were falling below our glide path and losing altitude quickly, I think I tried to increase the beep; however I am not at all certain. The aircraft started a gentle turn to the right. I knew we would not be able to gain airspeed and that we were going in. I believe our only hope was to zero out any forward or sideward movement and settle into the trees with zero airspeed. I locked my harness and watched fascinated as the aircraft settled into the trees. I remember thinking how much I would miss my wife and boys. As we moved deeper into the trees, the cyclic was ripped out of my hands and I was knocked unconscious. Sometime later, probably seconds, I awoke to the sounds of men moaning and fire crackling. It seem to me the aircraft was intact, at least the cockpit was. I removed my flight helmet and looked left to see how Dan York was. His helmet was missing and he appeared not to be breathing. I wanted to get to the back to start pulling people out. However, the companion way, as well as the center console, was jam packed with infantry gear. There was no way to get through all that equipment. I reached for the emergency door release on my side thinking I could exit the cockpit then enter the cargo area from the gunners door. As I reached for the handle I noticed the entire door was gone! I started to squeeze through the opening and was having difficulty. I placed my foot on what I thought was firm ground and began to slip through. At that point my footing gave way and I found myself falling through space. I hit the ground and was rolling, bouncing, and slipping downward until I became lodged between two large boulders. I extracted myself from the rocks and started back up the slope towards the aircraft. I had hardly made five feet when a tremendous explosion rocked my grip on the jungle. Several seconds later one of the front landing gear landed not ten feet from me. I knew the aircraft was lost. More importantly, my fellow crewman and the troops who had trusted us to get them to LZ Judy safely, were lost. Later, on LZ Judy, I was told by observers that we had taken hundreds of rounds of enemy automatic weapons fire. I don't know the exact truth of what brought us down. I only know that it did. There was one other survivor. It seems that one of the infantry
types panicked as the hail of bullets erupted from the floor
boards. This young trooper jumped through the cargo hook hole
just before impact. Apparently the aircraft continued just far
enough to impact some yards away from him, which saved his life.
He was evacuated to Japan and I never discovered his fate. |