Flight Details
The aircraft was serving with the 138th Aviation Company, part of the 224th U.S. Army Security Agency Battalion (Aviation), U.S. Army Security Agency Group, Vietnam. The pilot, U.S. Army Capt. Harry M. Ravenna, and passenger, U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. John C. Keiper, were on a routine flight from Dong Ha to Da Nang. Cpl. Keiper was assigned to Helicopter Attack Maintenance Squadron 16, Marine Air Group 16. Their role on this mission is unclear from public record. All missions of the 224th Battalion were highly classified during the war, and secret cover designations (Radio Research Units) were used instead of actual unit designations on station lists and reports. The 138th Aviation Company was based at Da Nang.
Loss of Contact
Capt. Ravenna filed a VFR (visual flight rules) flight plan but encountered poor weather conditions. He radioed Dong Ha and requested radar guidance. At 14:30 hours, he passed into Da Nang airfield radar control and radioed, “Lonely Ranger 723, heading 125, at 3,000 feet, estimating Da Nang at 40, request radar. Presently on instruments.” Da Nang had trouble bringing him onto the radar screen and instructed Ravenna to activate his transponder, but this did not improve radar contact. Personnel at Da Nang then asked his location, which he gave as 45 nautical miles from Dong Ha. Da Nang instructed him to re-contact Dong Ha, believing he was out of Da Nang range and still within Dong Ha's range. Ravenna acknowledged the transmission; radio contact was broken and never resumed. Ravenna and Keiper were last believed to be in South Vietnam about halfway between Da Nang and the city of Hue.
Investigation and Aftermath
Later investigation concluded that on his present course, had it been followed, Ravenna’s aircraft would have impacted with the side of a mountain in that vicinity. The hostile threat in the area prevented extensive search, and all efforts to discover the status of Ravenna and Keiper have failed. The crew consisted of Capt. Harry M. Ravenna and passenger Cpl. John C. Keiper.