ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 158690
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 2 May 1968 |
| Time: | 05:40 |
| Type: |  Grumman A-6A Intruder |
| Owner/operator: | VMA(AW)-533 USMC |
| Registration: | 154164 |
| MSN: | I-299 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 5 miles NW of Dong Hoi, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Chu Lai AB, near Tam Kỳ city, Quảng Nam Province, South Vi |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A-6A Intruder BuNo. 154164 of VMA(AW)‑533, MAG‑12, US Marine Corps, based at Chu Lai Air Base: Destroyed on combat operations May 2, 1968 when shot down by AAA during a Dawn strike on vehicles five miles northwest of Dong Hoi, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam, at approximate Coordinates: 16'46.58" North 107'01.57" East.
Aircraft was lost while on a Tally Ho Mission in the northern part of Route Package One. Radar and radio contact was abruptly lost at approximately 05:40 hours. The fate of the crew - 1st Lt Thomas D Clem and 1st Lt Robert Douglas Avery - is not known, but they were presumed KIA on July 22 and September 4, 1974 respectively
On Tuesday, July 2, 2002, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the wreckage of Avery's A-6A had been found during the search for another downed aircraft:
"In 1995, nearly three decades after Avery's plane disappeared, a joint U.S.-Vietnamese team was probing the coast of Vietnam for another airplane, part of a continuing effort to locate unaccounted- for veterans. On a narrow, sandy plain near a row of scrub pines, they found a brackish-water- filled crater they would later confirm as the crash site of an A-6A. The pilot of that plane was Lt. Thomas Dean Clem. His friend and crew mate was Robert Douglas Avery."
The article quotes Lt Commander Jerry O'Hara, a spokesman for the Joint Task Force, as saying that "We know we had the right aircraft. We found personal effects. We found crew materials. We found human remains [but they] have no DNA potential." As of 20 Feb 2004 the US Government has not announced the positive identification of either Avery's or Clem's remains.
Sources:
1. A-6 Intruder Units of the Vietnam War By Rick Morgan
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries19.html
3. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
4. http://www.virtualwall.org/da/AveryRD01a.htm
5. http://web.archive.org/web/20180422222159/http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/A-6.html
7. https://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=27574407
8. http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/a/a047.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Aug-2013 08:33 | Uli Elch | Added |
| 20-Aug-2013 08:48 | Uli Elch | Updated [Date, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Narrative] |
| 18-Mar-2016 22:21 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Dec-2019 15:07 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation