Incident Overview
On a target reconnaissance mission departing from Đà Nẵng Airport, a military aircraft carrying a crew of seven was struck by enemy fire while cruising at low altitude and low speed during night operations. The aircraft subsequently crashed in the vicinity of Đức Phổ. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew Manifest
The lost crew members were identified as Captain Charles William Robertson, First Lieutenant James Donald Goodman, Major Joseph E. Wilkinson, Staff Sergeant Raymond Medina, Staff Sergeant Cecil Truman Thompson, Airman First Class Dana Richard Kelley, and Airman Second Class Lonny Leroy Mitzel.
Official Findings
The probable cause of the accident, as determined by the official investigation, was that the aircraft was shot down by enemy fire.