| Date: 6 March 1972 |
| Aircraft type: F-4E Phantom |
| Serial Number: 69-7552 |
| Military Unit: 4 TFS, 366 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| 1Lt Carter Avery Howell (KIA) |
| 1Lt Stephen Arthur Rusch (KIA) |
| A flight of Phantoms from Da Nang was sent on a strike on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southern Laos. One of the aircraft (call sign Gunfighter 6) was hit by AAA as it made its second run over the target about 20 miles northeast of Saravan. The aircraft was seen to dive into the ground but no ejection or parachutes were seen and it was presumed that neither of the crew was able to escape. A SAR search found no trace of the crew. In 2002 and 2003 joint US/Laotian teams excavated the crash site of the aircraft that had originally been found in 1995. Human remains and military equipment were recovered and mitochondrial DNA testing and dental analysis later proved the remains to be those of 1 Lt Rusch. The remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery on 30 November 2007. |
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