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| Date: | Monday 6 February 1967 |
| Time: | 16:35 LT |
| Type: |  Sikorsky HH-3E Sea King (S-61R) |
| Owner/operator: | Det 5, 38th ARRS, 3rd ARRG, USAF |
| Registration: | 65-12779 |
| MSN: | 61-554 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 5 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Bai Dinh Hamlet, Dan Hoa Village, Quang Binh Province -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Udorn RTAFB (VTUD), Thailand |
| Dan Hoa, Vietnam |
The HH-3E with call sign JOLLY GREEN 05 was on a SAR mission to rescue the pilot Capt. Lucius Lamar Heiskell of O-1F Birddog (57-2807, call sign NAIL 65), who bailed out after being hit by anti-aircraft fire over the Mu Gia pass between Laos and North Vietnam. After hover to successfully pick up the pilot the helicopter was leaving the area southwards when it was struck by 37mm anti-aircraft fire, caught fire and crashed atop a 900 meters high karst peak. The pilot Maj. Patrick Hardy Wood, co-pilot Capt. Richard Abbott Kibbey and flight engineer SSgt Donald Joe Hall were killed.
The pararescueman A2C Duane D. Hackney had given his parachute to the rescued pilot, who jumped from the stricken helicopter but did not survive. Hackney barely had time to fit another parachute when he was thrown out of the cargo door, pulled the ripcord and then plummeted to the ground through the branches of a tall tree. He was rescued in worsening weather conditions by another HH-3E with call sign JOLLY GREEN 36 from the same unit, which acted as backup on this mission and treated for burns. Maj. Patrick Hardy Wood and A2C Duane D. Hackney were awarded the Air Force Cross for their actions during this mission and the other two crewmen received the Silver Star.
Sources:
https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1965.html
https://www.helis.com/database/cn/16747/
https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=990
https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/incident/67020610KIA.HTM
https://jollygg.blogspot.com/2020/12/fallen-heros-jolly-green-05-38th-arrs.html
http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=120
https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/1223852/airman-missing-from-vietnam-war-accounted-for-wood/
https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/1713622/airman-accounted-for-from-vietnam-war-kibbey-r/
https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Our-Stories/Article/1299048/airman-missing-from-vietnam-war-accounted-for-hall-d/
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Nov-2020 10:20 | gerard57 | Added |
| 16-Sep-2024 06:01 | CJT | Updated [Registration, Source, ] |
| 28-Jan-2025 06:28 | Tetrapack | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
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