Incident
An aircraft was attempting to land at Tuy Hòa Airport under a very low cloud base when it was struck by ground fire approximately 8 kilometers south of the airbase and crashed. The crash resulted in the deaths of all five crew members. The airplane, based at Nha Trang, was transporting a load of 13 tons of aviation fuel. It was the first mission as aircraft commander for 1st Lt Donald Clayton Smith.
Investigation
Enemy action was never actually confirmed as the cause of the loss. Investigators noted that the aircraft may simply have flown into high ground in poor visibility. The exact circumstances remained unclear for many years.
Crew
The crew members who perished in the accident were:
- 1st Lt Donald Clayton Smith (aircraft commander)
- 1st Lt David J. Wax
- Cpt Terry Fisher Katterhenry
- T/Sgt William Henry Crisp
- A1C Willie Mitchell
Aftermath
For some reason, the remains of 1st Lt David J. Wax were not recovered and identified until December 1996. No further details about the recovery process were provided in the source.