4 April 75 was first flight of Operation Baby Lift.
A C-5A took off out of Tan Son Nhut airbase with 328 people on board. A few minutes after takeoff, the locks on the rear cargo door failed, and there was an explosive decompression. Most of the flight control linkages were damaged, leaving only an aileron and the engines to control the plane.
The pilots got it turned around and headed back to the runway, but had to touchdown in a rice paddy two miles short. The plane skidded for considerable distance, hit a dike, and broke up.
Air Force Nurse Corps 1st Lt Regina Aune was thrown around during the decompression and survived the crash. She carried approximately 80 surviving babies to rescue helicopters from the base. She then asked another officer to take over and passed out. She was later found to have a broken foot, a broken leg, and a broken back. She was the first woman to receive the Air Force’s Cheney Award ”…for an act of valor, extreme fortitude or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest, performed in connection with aircraft, but not necessarily of a military nature.”
She eventually retired as a full colonel, after having commanded several Air Force medical units.
She died 9 days ago on 27 Mar 24.
Air Force Nurse Corps Captain Mary Therese Klinker of Lafayette, Indiana was killed in the crash. She was the last US service woman to die in the Vietnam war.
Out of the 328 people onboard, 176 survived. Both pilots were awarded the Air Force Cross.
A C-5A took off out of Tan Son Nhut airbase with 328 people on board. A few minutes after takeoff, the locks on the rear cargo door failed, and there was an explosive decompression. Most of the flight control linkages were damaged, leaving only an aileron and the engines to control the plane.
The pilots got it turned around and headed back to the runway, but had to touchdown in a rice paddy two miles short. The plane skidded for considerable distance, hit a dike, and broke up.
Air Force Nurse Corps 1st Lt Regina Aune was thrown around during the decompression and survived the crash. She carried approximately 80 surviving babies to rescue helicopters from the base. She then asked another officer to take over and passed out. She was later found to have a broken foot, a broken leg, and a broken back. She was the first woman to receive the Air Force’s Cheney Award ”…for an act of valor, extreme fortitude or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest, performed in connection with aircraft, but not necessarily of a military nature.”
She eventually retired as a full colonel, after having commanded several Air Force medical units.
She died 9 days ago on 27 Mar 24.
Air Force Nurse Corps Captain Mary Therese Klinker of Lafayette, Indiana was killed in the crash. She was the last US service woman to die in the Vietnam war.
Out of the 328 people onboard, 176 survived. Both pilots were awarded the Air Force Cross.
