[Helobubbas] NAS Imperial Beach Helicopter Mishap-1968

Tue Feb 7 11:51:41 PST 2023

Bob and Pete thanks so much. After I posted this I used Ancestry to search and I believe I found the mishap article in a number of newspapers incolving a HC-5 UH-2C which crashed at the East end of IB filling all three crewmembers….one pilot and two crewman. Jim O’Brien has mentioned he did not believe they single piloted the H-2 back there without someone sitting I the left seat, so we are guessing the left seat was manned by one of the two mishap crewman….
I have attached two cropped images from the newspapers I found online…..As it turns out Congressman Bilbray witnessed this mishap and taol me about it during our phonecall yesterday. He was in high school at the time and returning from surfing nd at the very West end of IB on that frontage road heading heom when he saw it come down and crash….He mentioned it had something to do with an autorotation, but he was not too clear on details.
I shold add that Jim O’Brien mentione din our discussion this ‘bird could also have belonged to HC-1 at this time. I guessed on HC-5…have not found anything to indicate which command. Jim knows osme folks who were there at the time. He said he checked in to HC-5 in 1969 himself after the mishap….
I found some other mishaps during 1968 but they were over thee water in the IB area, North Island PT Loma and Seal Beach areas, but only this one on Imperial Beach during 1968………mgb

From: Helobubbas <helobubbas-bounces at helobubbas.com> On Behalf Of Robert Schottle
Sent: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 11:01 AM
To: Helobubbas <helobubbas at helobubbas.com>
Subject: Re: [Helobubbas] NAS Imperial Beach Helicopter Mishap-1968

Mike: I don’t know if this is the mishap in question. The H-3 had a utility reservoir which amongst other functions serviced the automatic rotor brake. I recall an instance where that reservoir became pressurized in flight and the automatic rotor brake was wrongfully pressurized in flight and the rotor brake was applied with catastrophic results. Following that mishap, in later years that reservoir was vented to preclude that from happening. I know that vent arrangement was a preflight item on the aircraft. 
Bob Schottle
Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 7, 2023, at 10:30 AM, retiredaffairs at navalhelicopterassn.org <mailto:retiredaffairs at navalhelicopterassn.org>  wrote:

Anyone on the list around Imperial Beach during 1968 on the list remember a fatal helicopter mishap which took the lives of all of the crew. I believe it took off and got over the beach heading to the dip areas and immediately turnaround and returned to the airfield completing autorotation ending up a Class A and loosing the crew. I am not sure what model helicopter it was. Our former Congressman from Imperial Beach has reached out to NHAHS to help them identify the crew involved for a city memorial they are planning……We are assisting the former congressman and mayor, Brian Bilbray of Imperial Beach with this…mgb

Mike Brattland  CDR USN (Ret.)
NHA Retired Affairs Director/Membership/Signal Charlie Coordinator
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Naval Helicopter Association (NHA) LTM #70  R-12230

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