Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 67-17318
The Army purchased this helicopter 0368
Total flight hours at this point: 00003155
Date: 09/17/1971
Incident number: 71091777.KIA
Unit: 61 AHC
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: BS629022
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
P WO1 BUTLER GARY WILLIAM KIA
AC CW2 JORDAN JAMES RES
War Story:
Gary was killed after being shot down by a sniper while at a high out of ground effect hover on a hillside. They were conducting a ladder insertion of ROK troops that were probing and paralleling NVA movements on this LRRP mission.
CW2 James Jordan (from Florida) was PIC and Gary was co-pilot when they attempted to insert the LRRP's into this hillside LZ that was really just a square patch of clear cut (logged) area that still had a few trees standing helter-skelter.
When Jimmy Jordan was struck in the neck and shoulder by the sniper it caused him to jerk the flight controls and subsequently the tail rotor struck a tree and the helicopter crashed inverted and erupted into flames. It landed on top of the team and killed them all instantly. (10 of them) Jimmy and the gunner and gunner crew chief miraculously got away from the burning helicopter. Gary's legs were stuck in the wreckage and he could not get free.
From Marc E. Charbonneau, July 1998
This record was last updated on 08/28/1998
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: The VHPA Webmaster Gary Roush.
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Date posted on this site: 09/07/2007
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