3 Jun 2001 REMEMBERED Two men of A Company, 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, died in the crash of their UH-1H HUEY (hull number 69-15692): CPT Martin Vincent Fanning, aircraft commander WO1 Gabriel Augustus Jeffries, Jr, copilot The sponsor of this memorial wishes to remain anonymous.

 

Notes from The Virtual Wall Actually, a third person died in the crash - Sergeant Richard E. Colburn, HHC 2/8 Cavalry. The crew had completed a command-and-control mission and recovered at FSB Fontaine for refueling before returning to base. Upon completion of refueling, the aircraft was moved to the VIP pad and took aboard seven passengers before departing the FSB. Pre-flight checks and take-off were normal, but as the Huey climbed through 200-250 feet AGL a loud "bang" was heard. Airspeed promply decayed and the aircraft began to settle. The crew attempted to reach a cleared area but the Huey's sink rate increased to the point that it became obvious it would be below treetop level before reaching the area. As the crew tried to maneuver the Huey through the trees it first impacted three trees at about the 75 foot level, then a skid caught on one of the trees and pulled the Huey into a right-nose-down attitude. The aircraft fell nearly vertically from about 50 feet altitude, impacting nose-first in logs and rolling onto its right side. The injured crew chief and one passenger managed to exit the aircraft and extinguish a small engine fire before additional personnel arrived on scene and extracted the remaining six survivors and the bodies of the three casualties.

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