1967 — March 10, USN DC-3 wing failure/crash, admin. flight ~Phan Rang Vietnam –all 25

–25 Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USN Douglas VC-47J (DC-3), 3-10-1967.
–25 Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas VC-47J in Phan Rang: 25 Killed.”
–25 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 92.
–25 tomrue.net. “Monticello remembers Lt. John Calvin Crawford, lost in Viet Nam.”

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Date: Friday 10 March 1967
“Type: Douglas VC-47J (DC-3)
“Operator: United States Navy
“Registration: 99844
“MSN: 33267 / 16519
“First flight: 1945
“Crew: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
“Passengers: Fatalities: 21 / Occupants: 21
“Total: Fatalities: 25 / Occupants: 25
“Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
“Location: near Phan Rang (Vietnam)
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Cam Ranh Airport…Vietnam
“Destination airport: Saigon-Tan Son Nhat International Airport…Vietnam
“Narrative: Crashed wile on an administrative Navy flight between Cam Ranh and
Saigon, Vietnam.

“Sources: Vietnam Air Losses: United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps fixed-wing aircraft losses in Southeast Asia 1961-1973 / Chris Hobson

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives: “
“Date Y Time: Mar 10, 1967 at 1620 LT
“Type of aircraft: Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
“Operator: US Navy
….
“Site: Plain, Valley
….
“Total fatalities: 25
“Circumstances: Crash in unknown circumstances near Phan Rang while completing an
administrative service from Ranh Bay to Saigon. All 25 occupants were killed.”
(Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas VC-47J in Phan Rang: 25 Killed.”)

Gero:
“Date: 10 March 1967 (c.16:20)
“Location: Near Phan Rang, South Vietnam
“Operator: US Navy
“Aircraft type: Douglas C-47J (99844)

“All 25 American servicemen aboard the twin-engine transport, which had been on an internal South Vietnamese flight to Saigon from Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, crashed and exploded about 170 miles (275km) east-north-east of its intended destination. No further details, including the suspected cause of the crash, were released.” (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 92.)

tomrue.net: “….Lt. Crawford made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, at 30 years of age, when on March 10, 1967 the Douglas C-47 Navy transport plane he commanded crashed on land near Ninh Thuan, South Vietnam. Lt. Crawford (Commander Coastal Surveillance Force Vietnam [CTF-115]) was a 1st Lieutenant in the regular Navy when he died as a result of a non-hostile, fixed wing, non-crew air loss on land. The crash occurred in Ninh Thuan, South Vietnam, on March 10, 1967. Twenty-four other military men also were killed.” (tomrue.net. “Monticello remembers Lt. John Calvin Crawford, lost in Viet Nam.”)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. US Navy Douglas VC-47J (DC-3), near Phan Rang, Vietnam, 3-10-1967. Accessed 4-21-2022 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19670310-2

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas VC-47J in Phan Rang: 25 Killed.” Accessed 4-21-2022 at: https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-douglas-vc-47j-phan-rang-25-killed

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

tomrue.net. “Monticello remembers Lt. John Calvin Crawford, lost in Viet Nam.” Accessed 4-21-2022 at: http://tomrue.net/history/johncrawford/