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| Date: | Sunday 12 March 1989 |
| Time: | 19:35 |
| Type: |  Sikorsky CH-3E Sea King (S-61R) |
| Owner/operator: | 71st SOS, 919th SOG, USAF |
| Registration: | 65-5692 |
| MSN: | 61-543 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 15 / Occupants: 15 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Avra Valley, 20 miles NW of Tucson, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Libby Army Airfield (KFHU), Fort Huachuca, AZ |
| Gila Bend Gunnery Range |
The CH-3E with call sign PONY 12 was number two of a two ship in trail formation on a planned night infiltration training exercise to Gila Bend Gunnery Range, carrying 4 crewmen (pilot Maj. Donald D. Thomas, co-pilot LtCol Lawrence M. Rolle (Squadron CO) and flight engineers MSgt Malte Breitlow & TSgt William E. Slaven) and 11 soldiers (Capt. Ivin L. Broussard, Capt. Alan C. Brown, MSgt Roger D. Berryhill, Sgt1C Larry K. Evans, Sgt1C George A. Wayne, SSgt John W. Bigler II, SSgt Kenneth W. Campbell, SSgt Robert L. Griswold, SSgt Kevin R. Livengood, Sgt Larry D. Endress and Sgt Terry M. Hollway) of 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group assigned to Fort Bragg, NC.
Approximately 15 minutes after a refueling stop at Davis-Monthan AFB the helicopter crashed in a desolate desert area in an uninhabited area adjacent to the Sahuaro National Monument. It happened so fast that the other helicopter in the formation was unaware of what took place. All aboard were killed instantly in the crash and subsequent fire. The accident investigation later determined that the cause of the crash was a main rotor blade failure that took out the tail rotor. Shortly before the crash one of the blades had been replaced with an incorrectly overhauled one by United Technologies Corporation.
Sources:
https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1965.html
https://www.helis.com/database/cn/8361/
https://usafrotorheads.com/rolle-lawrence-w/
https://tucson.com/helicopter-crash/image_cb9d1f92-496c-11e7-929e-fb12c2a35512.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/14/us/helicopter-crash-kills-15-in-arizona.html
https://www.dm.af.mil/Media/Article-View/Article/314094/a-valley-ruled-by-giants-looking-back-20-years-at-unit-history/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Jun-2017 08:24 | gerard57 | Added |
| 05-Jun-2017 08:24 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 22-Jul-2017 14:22 | Rodger Asai | Updated [Registration, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 10-Oct-2022 08:20 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Narrative, ] |
| 23-Feb-2025 19:20 | Tetrapack | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
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