Narrative:On 12 May 1968, shortly after 12:00 hours, the U.S. forces decided to immediately extract all personnel from the beleaguered Kham Duc camp, because the North Vietnamese Army had been attacking the camp for over a day. Hercules 56-0548 was approaching the airstrip while under small arms fire.
The linkage to the power levers on all four engines was severed, so the pilot could not adjust engine power for landing. He feather all four propellers, landing at high speed. The airplane veered off the side of the runway where it struck the wreckage of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter that had been shot down earlier.
Sources:
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Vietnam Air Losses : United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps fixed-wing aircraft losses in Southeast Asia 1961-1973 / Chris Hobson
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This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.