AN  UNFORTUNATE  DEATH

Aviation Electronics Technician Third Class Ben Allen Hughes Jr. was reportedly born December 25, 1948 in Dallas, Texas.  On March 16, 1970, ATN3 Hughes was one of thirty-one crewmembers aboard EC-121M Super Constellation electronic surveillance aircraft BuNo 145927, designated PR-26, assigned to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1) stationed at Da Nang, Vietnam, which was returning to Da Nang following a flight to Tainan, Taiwan.

During the flight one of the four engines had to be shut down due to mechanical difficulties.  At the time, the first 1,000 feet of the De Nang runway was closed undergoing repairs and the combination of the two factors dictated an out-of-the-ordinary landing approach.  As PR-26 was almost to the ground on short final, another aircraft unexpectedly taxied onto the active runway, forcing PR-26 to attempt an aborted landing.  As power was applied to the engines the aircraft banked and a wingtip hit a shelter causing the plane to cartwheel, break into three pieces, strike a hanger destroying the hanger and an F-4 bomber inside, and then burst into flames.  The tail section, the only part to not burn, landed on an unoccupied softball field and miraculously one survivor emerged from the tail and walked away uninjured.  Unfortunately, twenty-three crewmembers, including ATN3 Hughes, were killed and the remaining seven were hospitalized due to serious injuries.

Review of readily available historical records revealed no information concerning ATN3 Hughes in addition to the above accident.  He is memorialized on a marker at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas, and his name is inscribed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

                                         EC-121M  -  BuNo 145927  -  I N FLIGHT

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)