| Date: 26 April 1971 |
| Aircraft type: O-2A Skymaster |
| Serial Number: 67-21388 |
| Military Unit: 23 TASS, 504 TASG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Nakhon Phanom |
| Name(s): |
| 1Lt Guy L Mellor (Survived) |
| 1Lt Len J Fleming (Survived) |
| In a worrying development in the air war over southern Laos, an O-2 FAC (call sign Nail) was shot down by a SAM about 30 miles east of Nakhon Phanom. The aircraft was flying at 80 knots at 7,000 feet and was damaged by a huge explosion on its starboard side forcing the crew to bail out. They both landed safely and were later rescued by a HH-53 from the 40th ARRS. The existence of the SAM site had only been confirmed a few weeks earlier. |
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