| Date: 2 February 1962 |
| Aircraft type: C-123B Provider |
| Serial Number: 56-4370 |
| Military Unit: Special Aerial Spray Flight, attached to 464 TCW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Tan Son Nhut |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Fergus Coleman Groves (KIA) |
| Capt Robert Darrel Larson (KIA) |
| SSgt Milo Bruce Coghill (KIA) |
| The first US aircraft lost in South Vietnam was a C-123 Provider of the Ranch Hand defoliation unit. The aircraft was on a training flight when it crashed into dense forest during a practice spray run in an inaccessible area near Route 15 between Bien Hoa and Vung Tau killing all on board. The Viet Cong were thought to have removed items of equipment from the wreckage before a search party could be flown into the area. As the wreckage was largely destroyed by a post-impact fire it was not possible to find evidence of sabotage or engine failure or hits from ground fire. However, after this crash all Ranch Hand aircraft were escorted by fighters during their spray missions. |
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