Incident Details
On approach to Khâm Đức Airfield, the aircraft was hit by small artillery fire, which caused the hydraulic systems to fail. After touching down, the aircraft became uncontrollable and veered off the runway before striking a parked helicopter. All five crewmen aboard were unhurt.
Aircraft and Crew
The crew, from the 21st squadron, was flying to Khâm Đức to evacuate troops during an emergency evacuation of the camp. The pilot was Captain Delmore, and the copilot was Joe Donahue.
Aftermath
The aircraft did not catch fire at the time of the incident. However, it was later intentionally destroyed. According to Bill Schneider from the Khâm Đức Group, the aircraft was guided off the runway on purpose by superior flying skills. USAF fighters subsequently destroyed all remaining assets on the ground, including the Special Forces camp, engineer equipment, and anything that could be of value to the North Vietnam Army. Delmore's crew was picked up just a few minutes later by a USMC CH-46 helicopter.