Helicopter Accidents
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YH-21
Thule AB, Greenland
17 Nov 1953
S/N 50-1240
Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA)
Thu, Nov 19, 1953
Four Airmen Die in Greenland Helicopter Crash
Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (AP) The air proving ground command reported yesterday a late-type Arctic rescue helicopter crashed Tuesday in Greenland, killing its four-man crew. The plane, the YH-21 made by Piasecki, was in the last stages of operational durability test, when it crashed at Thule Air Force Base. Details of the crash were not available here. Two of the crew men killed were based at Eglin Air Force Base. They were identified as Capt. Raymond C. Gottfried, 30, Brooklyn, N.Y., and TSgt. Clay H. Danner, 36, Valle Crucis, NC. The other victims were Capt. Edward E. Burkes and SSgt. Philip E. Moore , stationed at Thule AB with the 55th ARS. Their home towns were not available here. The helicopter was one of two which left Eglin AFB August 17 for test under Arctic conditions.
Eye-witnesses said the helicopter had trouble with one rotor and crashed directly on the Thule airfield.
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