| Date: 23 March 1967 |
| Aircraft type: A-6A Intruder |
| Serial Number: 152608 |
| Military Unit: VMA(AW)-242, MAG-11 |
| Service: USMC |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Frederick Cone (Survived) |
| Capt Doug Wilson (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: C-141A Starlifter |
| Serial Number: 65-9407 |
| Military Unit: 62 MAW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: McChord AFB |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Harold Leland Hale (KWF) |
| Capt Leroy Edward Leonard (KWF) |
| Capt Max Paul Starkel (KWF) |
| SSgt Alanson Garland Bynum (KWF) |
| SSgt Alfred Funck (KWF) |
| 1 other crew, name unknown (Survived) |
| Some of the bases in South Vietnam were among the world’s busiest airfields during the height of the war in Southeast Asia. The number of aircraft movements at bases like Da Nang and Tan Son Nhut equalled or exceeded those at major US and European airports. With the huge amount of activity involved it is inevitable that accidents should sometimes occur on the ground. The worst such accident happened in the early hours of 23 March and involved a Marine Corps A-6, which was taking off from Da Nang on a strike mission, and a MAC C-141 Starlifter. The air traffic controller had cleared the Intruder to take off but also unwittingly cleared the C-141 to cross the runway. The Intruder pilot saw the Starlifter at the last moment and tried to veer off the runway to avoid it but the Intruder’s port wing sliced through the Starlifter’s nose. The Intruder sumersalted onto it back and continued down the runway. The pilot and navigator miraculously escaped death and crawled though their smashed canopy. The aircraft was carrying 16x500lb bombs and six rocket packs, some of which later exploded in the fire. The C-141 immediately burst into flames igniting its cargo of 72 acetylene gas cylinders, which resulted in a tremendous explosion. All the Starlifter crew died except the loadmaster who managed to escape from one of the aft doors before the aircraft exploded.
This was the first A-6 Intruder that the Marine Corps had lost in Southeast Asia. Although the US Navy had been flying the A-6 since February 1963 and had deployed them on carriers off Vietnam from May 1965, the first Marine Corps Intruders did not arrive in Vietnam until 1 November 1966 when VMA(AW)-242 took up residence at Da Nang. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.