Virtual Oral History Submittal - David L. Weist
This is about aircraft 63-9711 that is listed as crashed 21 May
'67 in Johan Ragay's records. I was the Rescue Crew Commander (RCC) on that
mission. We got a call on an F-100 that went down on a bomb run about 10 miles
north of Bien Hoa. My unit was Det6, 38ARRS. We arrived on site with several
Army Huey gun ships for cover. The crash site was in 40 to 50 acres of trees at
the edge of a small clearing. I checked for a place to put down if needed and
made a pass over the crash site. We saw a deployed chute on the ground near the
crash. There was no emergency radio response. I hovered at about 150' and was
about to put the PJ down to have a look when we took small arms fire. My rotor
rpm/engine rpm needles separated, the rotor rpm dropping fast. (Rounds had apparently
slipped in over the armor plate of the turbine engine wiping out turbine blades
so I had engine speed but no power to the rotors. I immediately entered
autorotation and turned right 120 degrees and put the bird down in the only open
spot. We all got our and made for a ditch. Turned out that there was a VC camp a
couple hundred feet away and we were immediately under fire. I had my emergency
radio rigged to my flight helmet (a good thing as the noise of the shooting
would have made hearing difficult). The Army got a Huey gunship into the
clearing behind us and we scrambled out. We took numerous rounds to the Huey as
we climbed out. The Army pilot dropped us at Bien Hoa and was some put out as it
was a new helo and now had a bunch of holes in it. I remember it cost a couple
cases of Scotch to soothe him. The H-43 was in fine shape and only needed a new
engine but it was late in the afternoon and there wasn't a lift 'copter
available to get it out and no time to secure the area before dark. So the
decision was made to destroy the H-43. They tried strafing it but the self
sealing tanks kept it from exploding so artillery was called in and that did the
job. We got a couple Purple Hearts. The PJ got shot in the thumb and I got a
piece of a slug in the back of my neck. Everyone else was okay. So 711 didn't
really crash. The autorotation was fine although when I look at a Dash 1 and see
that you aren't supposed to be able to auto rotate from 150' I wonder how we got
safely down.
Thank you very much Dave for your
submittal!!
MISSION NARRATIVE FROM THE MISSION THAT RESULTED
IN THE LOSS OF A1C PITSENBARGER
FROM: Det 6, 38th Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Sq., APO US FORCES 96227
SUBJECT: Mission Narrative Report
TO: 3rd Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Group (JSARC), APO US FORCES 96307
- Mission Number: 6-38-80-11 April 1966
- Det 6, 38th ARRS alerted by hot line from 3rd JSARC
- SAR Aircraft used: 2 HH-43F, 1 HH-43B
First Aircraft Pedro 97
RCC Capt Ronald L. Bachman
CP Capt Raymond L. Murdon
HM A1C Thomas C. Story
RS SSgt David E.
Milsten
Second Aircraft Pedro 73
RCC Capt Harold D. Salem
CP Maj Maurice G.
Kessler
HM A1C Gerald C. Hammond
RS A1C William H.
Pitsenbarger
Third Aircraft Pedro 46
RCC Capt John H. Larson
CP Capt Peter C.
Kelley
HM A1C William Amendolare Jr
FF SSgt Calvin H.
Warren
- Reaction time from initial notification to first pickup: 0+33
- CAP Assistance: 2 O1C FAC, 2 UH1 Armed helicopters, 3 F-100, and artillery
on station at all times. One flare ship (C-47) was orbiting for night
operations.
- Summary of Events:
At 1507 hours, Det 6 was notified by 3rd JSARC that 6 or more Army
casualties were located at 1044N 10719E and would require extraction by
hoist. Pedro 97 and Pedro 73 were airborne at 1512 hours enroute to the area
33 miles southeast of Bien Hoa. The helicopters were vectored into the area
which was marked by smoke from the ground party. The pickup point was in
dense jungle with trees approximately 150 feet high. There was a small open
area in the 150 foot trees down to the trees at the 100 foot level. Below
the 100 foot canopy there was dense brush to approximately 30 feet. There
was a hole in the 30 foot canopy just large enough for the stokes litter. It
was necessary to hover with the right rotor blades within 3 to 5 feet of a
tree to lower the litter through the hole. Arriving in the area at 1535
hours, Pedro 97 immediately started the first pickup which was completed at
1545 hours. Pedro 97 moved out to transfer the patient from the stokes
litter to the folding litter while Pedro 73 made a stokes litter pickup.
Pedro 97 then moved back in and made one more stokes litter pickup and then
both helicopters proceeded to Binh Ba, about 8 miles south, to transfer the
patients to a field hospital. Pedro 97 refueled and Pedro 73 returned to
make another pickup. At this time Pedro 73 placed their paramedic on the
ground to assist in the loading of patients and administer first aid. As
Pedro 73 departed the pickup point with one litter patient, Pedro 97 moved
in to make another pickup. Pedro 73 proceeded to Binh BA with the patient
while Pedro 97 picked up one litter patient and two more patients on the
forest penetrator. Upon arriving at Binh BA, Pedro 73 refueled. Pedro 97
deposited the 3 patients at Binh BA and while enroute to the pickup point, I
was notified by Sidewinder 23 that the pickup point was under heavy small
arms and mortar attack. The mortar attack was neutralized when Pedro 97
arrived at the pickup point so I proceeded to extract two litter patients.
As Pedro 97 departed the pickup point, Pedro 73 arrived and proceeded to
lower the litter for another pickup. When the litter was approximately 10
feet from the ground, Pedro 73 was hit by a burst of automatic small arms
fire from the left rear and from approximately a 30° angle from the
vertical. The pilot immediately cut the hoist, called "Ground
fire" and started to depart the area. Immediately after starting to
climb out it was noticed that the rotor and engine rpm could not be
controlled. The throttle was jammed in the full open, max power position.
The aircraft required at least 4 inches of right rudder to maintain
coordinated flight. Approximately 2 miles from the hoisting area there was a
small clearing in a rubber plantation, but not knowing how secure it was,
the pilot decided to try to make a road further west. About this time the
pilot felt he had the emergency under control and he elected to try to take
the aircraft to Binh BA which he knew was secure. The possibility of using
emergency fuel in flight was ruled out because the throttle could not be
brought down to flight idle. The pilot and co-pilot evaluated the situation
and decided a shallow approach and running landing was the best way to land
the aircraft. Clearance was obtained and Pedro 97 stood by as the approach
and landing was made. The landing was made with no injury to the crew. The
only way to shut the engine down was to turn off the fuel and oil shutoff
valve. The oil could be shut off but not the fuel. It was discovered that
the fuel portion of the valve had been rendered inoperative by a bullet. The
mechanic tried to manually move the fuel control to the off position with no
success. He then considered the possibility of disconnecting or masking the
fuel line to starve the engine. Then he hit on the idea to drive the fuel
control to the off position with a hammer which successfully shut the engine
down. During shut down it was found that the rotor brake has also become
inoperative but the blades coasted to a stop creating no further problems. A
quick investigation of the aircraft revealed nine hits. Both sets of blades
were ruined along with many other items on the aircraft. It was also noticed
that the armor plating in the cabin had successfully stopped two .30 caliber
armor piercing rounds destined for the hoist operator. Transportation was
arranged to take the crew back to Bien Hoa so plans could be made for
removing the aircraft to Bien Hoa. When Pedro 97 heard the call of ground
fire hits from Pedro 73 he immediately returned to Binh BA, transferred the
litter patients and returned to escort Pedro 73 back to Binh BA When Pedro
73 was safely on the ground, Pedro 97 returned to the pickup point where
there were 7 more known casualties and Pedro 73's pararescueman. I was told
to orbit west of the pickup point at altitude because the ground forces were
in heavy enemy contact with the enemy too close for air support. Very
shortly afterward, artillery was called in and the pickup point was
completely encircled in artillery fire. At this time Pedro 46 arrived on
scene and joined the orbit. Pedro 46 departed the orbit for Binh BA and
refueled as it became dark. When Pedro 46 returned to the orbit, Pedro 97
returned to Binh BA for fuel. As Pedro 97 returned to the orbit point we
were advised by Sidewinder 22 (ground FAC) that the situation was such that
no more extractions could be made and the two Pedro aircraft should return
to home stations. Airman Pitsenbarger, the Pararescueman from Pedro 73,
remained at the pickup point. Upon arrival at Bien Hoa I was notified by 3
DASC that during the night the pararescueman and 7 remaining casualties were
moved to an area where an LZ would be cleared and they would be extracted by
Army helicopters at first light the next morning.
Arrangements were made to have an Army CH-47 sling load Pedro 73 to Bien Hoa
from Binh BA for repairs.
Pedro 97 recovered 7 casualties and Pedro 73 recovered 2 casualties. Nine
(9) combat saves were claimed. HH-43F's flew eight (8) sorties for 6+15
hours. HH-43B flew two (2) sorties for 2+30 hours
[signed]
RONALD L. BACHMAN, Capt, USAF
Rescue Crew Commander
Early in the evening shortly after the final departure
of Pedro 97, Airman
Pitsenbarger was killed by a sniper.
If you should have any photos, additional
information, or personal anecdotes that you would like to contribute to the Det. #6 page, please contact me.
This Page was Updated January 13, 2007
.
|
