Accident InvestigationOver the next few days, the recoverable wreckage of 69-17120 was returned to Chu Lai, by sling load. the transport was primarily accomplished by elements of the 132d ASHC, 17th Battalion Pathfinders and the Maintenance Support Battalion. While I am certain that the accident investigation was conducted within the parameters previously outlined, I believe that a fatal accident (as this was) might have required appointment of a three-man investigation team, rather than a single officer. It would be reasonable to assume that this team would have been appointed from officers with the 132d ASHC, as we as 14th Battalion, 16th Group or other 23d Division assets. that being the case, I am sure the junior member would have been detailed the legwork. Though I can not say where the information detailed in the website loss log was derived from, I have thought, for the last thirty years, that the cause established ws that the aircraft was over gross weight (for conditions).While such a conclusion might cast some aspersions upon the flight crew, that is certainly not my intent. A reasonable explanation, particularly given the exigencies of combat conditions, was available and included in the final accident report. Beginning in the early morning hours this CH-47's day included a number of sorties, before the final approach that ended in the crash. At Chu Lai (virtually sea level at dawn) weight and balance/density altitude computations would have been remarkably different from those done in the mid-day heat and for a location hundreds of feet above sea level. With 40 heavily armed pax, and pallets of munitions and supplies as an internal load, the Chinook was over gross weight (for conditions) as it made its approach to this particular landing. Note: The photographs accompanying this article are duplicates of two of those included within the official accident report prepared by the 14th Combat Aviation Battalion's Aviation Safety Section Gary Englert - email: grenglert@aol.com |