| Date: 19 July 1969 |
| Aircraft type: B-52D Stratofortress |
| Serial Number: 55-0676 |
| Military Unit: 70 BW attached to 4133 BW(P) |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Anderson AFB, Guam |
| Name(s): |
| 6 crew, names unknown (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: HH-43F Huskie |
| Serial Number: 59-1562 |
| Military Unit: Detachment 12, 38th ARRS, 3 ARRG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: U-Tapao |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Warren Kent Davis (KWF) |
| TSgt Harry Cohen (KWF) |
| Sgt Thomas Miles (Survived) |
| As a B-52 was taking off in heavy rain from U-Tapao on an Arc Light mission the pilot’s and co-pilot’s airspeed indicators gave different readings. The pilot eventually aborted the take off but the nose gear collapsed and the aircraft caught fire as it came to a halt just off the end of the runway. One of the base’s HH-43s (call sign Pedro 70) quickly arrived on the scene with an underslung fire suppressant kit and although most of the B-52 crew were seen to have escaped from the aircraft it was thought that the tail gunner was still on board (he had in fact escaped unseen). The helicopter hovered near the burning Stratofortress in an attempt to locate the tail gunner but the aircraft’s bombs and fuel tanks started to explode and the HH-43 was blown some distance away. Maj Warren K Davis and TSgt Harry Cohen were killed when the helicopter crashed while Sgt Thomas Miles survived but with serious injuries. Four KC-135s parked near the inferno were started and taxied to a safe distance by their crew chiefs thereby averting an even greater tragedy. The B-52 was on detachment to Andersen from the 70th BW based at Clinton-Sherman AFB, Oklahoma and had probably recovered at U-Tapao following an Arc Light raid. Guam-based aircraft often landed at U-Tapao and flew several missions from there before returning to Andersen thereby reducing crew fatigue on the long-range missions from Guam. The HH-43 had only been transferred from Udorn to U-Tapao five days before it was lost. |
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