SaICCH bask
mgn7hlx report
9
aonth of February when reviewed with on unemotional approach to
problems such as sub-standard housing at exorbitant prices, police ha roecontinual axpooura to newspaper propaguida ofcapabilities, increased terroriston rockets and tho tension created by waiting for the expected ground offensive against Saigon and other major citiea in Vietnam, was *ust like any other dull nonth in Vietnam.
Flying tine waa the lowest The ehert nonth, TET ho lidnd general reduction In customer activity resulted inours flying which wasf our rorecast. It is generally expected there will be considerable changes in overall activity during tho next few montba. Both customers have goneive and half day week for their management personnel. Thla should reduce Sunday flyinginimum; however, there is no apparent effect at thle time.
Our new contingency nlan was exercised for the flret time onebhen Tan Son Hhut waa placeded alert. AU Vietnamese wore denied. Our afternoon shift assembled in tho designated aesenbly arean from tha main entrance gate) and aaedted further instructlona. We obtained authority to shuttle our employees to the AAM area in company transportation with minimum loss of man hours. atter of Interest,
AAM ia the only cceipany with en assembly area designated by an appropriate sign to cover euch oontingencles as VC activity, security reatrictlons, strikes etc.. In this way we can maintain control over employees ttnd reduce the total loss of man hours when varloua oontingendoa occur wheroae tha employees of other companies return to their homea to "try again tomorrow.*'
12. iuO.hh.Vr
1. The TET holidays coupled with the VC activities between Saigon and Bien Hoe have slowed down tho progress of the West Rasp surfacing. The contractor was unable to get to hla query for crush rock because of the VC. Other projects are moving towards completion with usual number of. Personnel Office oocpleted except for lighting which have been ordered from Japan. Supply was unable to obtain eatiefactory flxturea in SEA,twX or Taiwan.
III. FISCAL
1. Move to larger quarters la being held up by lack of lighting in new PK5 Office. Personnel continues toroblaa with the Vietnaneeedrafting preaent employees and refusing to grant visa to TCH personnel. This has resulted in extra heavy work loads for remaining oaployeeo thereby decreasing efficiency ana accuracy.
Piaater payroll5
-
--
Total5
IV. FLTIMGB report on
X, Hth, the prospect of TpT oceuring curing the nonth, low flight tlae ond xong porlooe of stand-by at tho airport was foreca.e. The forecastod activities prevailed throughout the aonth. The only bright opot waa "Charlies" activities did not reach the expected proportions, though we didoss of an aircraft at the hands of the VC.
riWiTra-Vinhho landing gear ofolded. This necessitated change of both engines and propellers. This was done onebruary. Curing the night ofebruary the aircraft waa destroyed. In the charred wreckage we found tho tail pip*0 rocket.
3, JB concluded hie visit in S'/TJ with vislto to Nha Trang anc Da Sacg.
curing the course of his visit at Da Hang, he was confronted with the
persistent obstacle to ourion; coociunlcation with Da Nong fUPCCK.
Captain Stallaantation vluit at Da Nang for the purpose of
eke-ing out the reason for cur lack of coatunicaticns with RAPCON. Basically
his findings were our lack of UHF rrrminlration equipment and transponder equipment
inetailed on our aircraft. Thla point will be reiterated later on in this
report. 1 in all DFD visit was nost constructive and his counsel was
most appreciated. Ko would like to sea hla acre ofter.
Joint nesting consisting of 3M, ASH, MSAPK, HTS, KFD and all IHFe waa conoucted to atony our aethcd of operationorpo Area and to sake receoacndaticns to the President for safer operations. Though we have suffered aany loasea inorps Are* the rooomendations aado by the counsel were directed toward all areas In GVN. Basically the recoeriendotlone were: Install transponder, DIIF, and TkCAH oquipaent in all aircraft; accept the W* restrictions outlined in ICAC regulations; auphasixo safety anc profeesioiuaien in pilot's testings:afety award Incentive prograa.
^ Pqhruary Air "aerlca, Inc, waa representedriefing of the 1st Air Brigade at Long Blnh by BH, ABM, DSAFE, MS..FE and MFD. Purpose waa to acquaint Air Anarica with the operation of the air era of tho US Amy. ba were tho guests of Major Cenaral John allliaaa, Ceaaunder of the First Air Brigade. Thle is indicative of closer llaieon of all Units operating In the alrapace cf SVMldreater mutual understanding of problems encountered.
6. Onebruary the MFDtation visit to Bleuitheaiatant for Air Operation for III Corps area, Mr. Bill Cain. During tha course of tharip ensued to -cng Bo. Thle airstrip had been closed by the MFD due to uncontrolled pedestrian and vehicular traffic on and around tho strip. ooting with the US Military, CCdDS Province Representative, and MACV Advleory personnel was convened toourao of action to control hazard oue traffic. oint effort towarde positive control of tha field waa easured ande-opened the field. Capt Adcley transferredepartingeb. Uptaln bailer arrivedebruary ana aseuaed outios AMF for VTB and LHC-4. Captain McCarthy le welcomed to the staffhF.
oonth closed out witha return. Doth are to be coBoanded for Jobs well done.
- Total flight time for tho oonthrop ofa over Jan.oure under programmed flight tine.
have eeven aircraft cn contract. At the preeent tine It appoare that wo are about nine pliote over in the Beech Program at the preeent.
Tho flight time programed for March le0 hoursours over the present aonth.
Safety is one of the thoughts foremost in our minds theee days. The plloto are beginning to talk safety, hoping this will help towardatter oafety record.
ime for the monthours. Host of thie wastiie Tet holidays plus the lack of Customer cargo to be moved.
Average time per captain woehoure wllle tho average for first officers wasours.
Ths lack of flying has caused tiie usual drop in uorale. inactivity we can expect eome incidents aa the old eaylng goes: "Idle hando are the devil's workshop". The flying should pickit In March. Should the program continue to slump some resignations may be forthcoming.
ours from tho previous aonth. The cuetotwo bailed aircraft froa the contract plus the lossnumber of contract aircraft to five. Since the bailmenttha useaily call basis, the flyingOractically.
It would appear that the cuatonerit preoaturo in dropping the two aircraft as be ia now trying to gat one back on contract and the otherally call basis.
If theee two aircraft are put back on contract the time should build backeasonable Mount.
Morale ie tulr but inactivityangerous and trying thing and if the oituAtion continues as is there will be resignations forthcoming. Unfortunately tne ones that resign sr* usually tho people you would most like to keep.
Thetinueo to be slow and unpredictable. Captelno averagedours with orly one reaching thoour aark. Piret officers flew on avorago ofou>a.
The llelio programcuro this month slightly overoura that were estimated. The time was flown byilots were on station throughout tbe oonth. One >llot flawours and onehe others were close to the average o:nure. One pilot. Morris waa grounded afterours and is waiting release to flight duty from Taipei. Cant McCarthy flewefore assuming duties asAif/Hallo on 24
Proficimcy ^
school. tB chGCk a and all pilote are current in
March should prove toetter oonth tine wise8 ttoura estimated.
tjae foruring. February3 hours, even lowertotale crop-off (both January and February)attributed primaroly to lesser requirements for the aircraft byczar. In February an additional reason for low tine was the lackaircraft (which were non-available due to maintenance repair) and
the fact that Februaryhcrt month, which included the Tet holidays.
lo anticipated that March willetter monthan am? estimate of lfc'QO hours. Should this evolve, our presentofilots will still bo two pilots over. Should there0onth the program will be appropriately manned.
treat strops has been placed on safe operating procedures, to induce the re-emphasising of adequate consideration boing given to tha conduct of flights under VIA outside controlled airspace. Two pilots meetings wore held in Feb. during which extensive dlecuesion was conducted on the above subject. The pilots woro infact knowledgeablo concerning the Mules and Sag'a"e-emphasising of the company's goal and intent in this operation was definitely required. It iaafer, better aligned operation will result.
a and "SAP3TYforms have been re-exploinod to-nd tiaely submission of same has boen encouraged.
There has been sone reluctance to engage heartily in this program iniisnuich as previous requests and suggestions submitted have gone without reaponee.
Duringalanced loovo program9 was firmed up and submitted, and the outlook shows no eataatrophies.
VTB flight timeours. Actual aircraft timehours. pilots finished the month with less thanours. averagedours and first officersours. It may appearprogram is over manned; however, this is not the case bectuse ofstandby requiremente at Saigon and outstotions.
Morale could be much improveduitable facility could be provided for night standby at the airport In Saigon. See additional FLTIKG ath page of the report. V. OPiCtATIUiS
Lue to,our previous inaccurate flight time forecasts we continued to struggle thru eebruary in searchormula to enable us to foresee what the future flying hours would be. Ve are;ally performance chart of our aircraft oiaiiiar to the ono done at Taipei! *ith this we
ordIritcra have beon keeping tho duty Git timely advised of
any ranp probleas even though the walhie talkie radios continue to be under repair moat of tho tiae. The damp Coordinators ouboitaily delay report. This report otill lacks refinement but should be satisfactory for distributionpril. The Traffic Departmentbeon preparing the delay report for tho pestonths.
has laproved but we continue to have tho proylon of Saigon traffic
congestion and curfew restrictions. wo had reservations about hiring female drivers but eoae or them have proven tc be better than their aalo The GTD drivers are now required to attend driver education classee for two weeks. Mr. lohler, Supr.Arng set up this course andrivers havo attended so for.
be will gohift operation for clerks and CD's tids aonth. The only problem *ith this is an overlapours in ths afternoons. Again, curfew restrictions do not allow us to schedule peraonnel as we would like. The Emergency Equipment room is functioning orderly. Two locals have replaced the slots previously held by TCK's.
SCM/3CS ahoulc be relieved of his dutiesZ-CKC tho end of March. Ho will thenonths hoae leave. The CM shortage remains the saae.
Pasaengera carried
Aircraft arrivals SUN J
departures EGN
Cargo carried
3(e) Flight tiae report (See attachment) ncidents (See attehment) Flight tlae Information (See attachment) Flight' Frequency (See attachment D)
- All pertinent information inducing equipmentand oata concerning our roqueat to locate the Motorolaayetens within military facilities was forwarded to HqsForce for their consideration and recocDcndationa. They insaae to Hqa Pac GSEU Sgn with the reccaoendation thatbe granted. Thus far, there baa bean no reply froa Pac
GEaTA Rgn and we are still awaiting CINtPAC'e declalon.
Aft was prepared foroease-aalntonance agreementforo be onployedtap control network. to this agreement. Embassy customer wrote to 7th AF Judgeseeking that office's ruling to allow Airto entersuch an agreement. Copiea of5 contract MM forwardedsimilar documents obtained froa SZ-CLX in which the SJA, Clark AB,
Air America constitued an agency of. Government when
similar contract, ae hope to have tho decision aeon.
and Tele ccmuiii cations turned down our request 'orHr frequencieshe freq.uer.cioa desired had already beenITU use for international point-to-point circuits. HACV J6 advisedholding up RFAHs ponding CIKCPAC approval of allfrequency allocation requests aubmltted by MCftD.
CryeUls8ere lnatallod ln the Can Tho and Saigon RSUets and excellent results have been obtained.
A dally pouch schedule hao been sot up for Can Tho for Company mail. There are two flights daily to that so no problems are anticipated.
have boon nade locally whereby Cstliay Pacificto oeliver Company oail to Hong Kong aboard their flights.erbal agreement with Cl's Saigon Station Manager and no payment We have aeked SCC and KC Kong Kong toimilardirect delivery to Saigon. Such arrangeoente will greatlyand UFA in conducting their business.
COKEMG has reluctantly been assigned Minister Extraordinary andof tbe company APO mailroom with all due prorequlsltes.
traffic
VI. THAFFIC/USAli
(including AF)
lbs)lbs)
iiesults of review of the new operating hours coupled with new curfew restrictionsinhange in schedule operating hours for Marchaily. Personal review of0 hour closingthat little or no work was performedhe government has imposed some 2CC0 and0 hour curfew restrictions and AAM GTD has rearranged tho bus schedule, thereby necessitating the operating hour change.
eview of the themes loss situation revealed that not placing them on the small aircraft cia not adversely affect the operation. Consequently the firm policy has boen enforced with approval of tSI* and BM to Iseue only to aircraft having and AFD/iPS or FM assigned, VIP and International flighta and the Danang and Khatrang circuit flights. An appreciable decrease in losoes has been noted.
A review of loet and found baggage procedures indicated need for improvement.omprehensive procedure has been formalised and will be eent out to other stations for guidance.
L. During AUTD's visit hehange in our procedure for returning tie down equipment for repair. Me immediately put his ideu ln force and will now turn tha straps in to Supply thru QC and request irsaediate re-leeue.
ving the repair ana shipment procecuraB up lo Supply.
A Caa was initiated to review tha hot water system and instructions given to either repair oretailed account as to why repairs cannot be effected.
ore PTT line and one Company telephone extension servicingPL, TH, Terminal and Cargo sections it was necessary touster system be installed to preclude delayed coavj*aiication. -hie has not been completed as cf this writing.
6. Lue to lack of clarsrccn suaca anc the TET ho licays tho anglish class has been temporarily discontinued.
has been noted ln ahlccent of damaged aircraft on board7 aircraft. eparate letter is being prepared byTH ln thie regard.
Pp Card prohlnow again arose, and it naa boon noceoaary to have the cards checked in and out with tbe supervisor to preclude falsification of records by varloua Indiviouol. *hia latop gap measure until the new time clocke arrive.
Acditlonal workload has been placed on tho terminal egetca to Insurepprovalo have been received on all travel of eccpeny personnel on boardponsorod aircraft, "fhlsew requirement imposed by CO.US and agreed to by Air Africa Station personnel
9. Statistics
Passenger departures1 contr.)
arrivals SGN
Outbound
Inbound
attachment
OCCUPANCY
nlyeds were occupiedercentage This low percentage is aue to Tet holldoya and very fewlastays of tha month. Non-availability slips issued: ?
attachment *F"
x. mhicaij
1. number of sick call: 4
Accident: inor, and only one of them waa considered to be c
lttleooreitGHDmployee was on his way to work,
before^reecniagtne Halo Gate of /An one mancooter overpase him hitting the rear ond of his coto.-. he fell on the ground causing laceration of tha right foot. Ha waa treated In Base Clinicays sick leave was granted.
Hospitalised sickone uhhospitallted0 Out
Physical examination) 1. Flight crew
re-enployment- Accident flight phy. 4
Totali 30
Sanitation: atisfactory
Toilet air Vaccination: 22
Total oan daye lost by reasons cfA. days Total nan days lost by reasons of accident: ays
XL. SAFETY
ilot meetings
eb,resent. Theme of this meeting -as: "IP IT CAN'T SB DONE SAFETY, DON'T DOmphasis on use of the Safety Comment, and "CO NC CO" weather criteria were also discussed.
4 February,resent. This moating repeated tho above subjects for pilots not attending the first mooting.
2 Fob,resent. Llecuaslon concerned use of tho Safety Ccccent, and compliance with all regulations governing flight operations.
C-t64 Feb,resent. Discussion points were:
lies of Safety Commentilot tool to Lap rove flight operations end reduce haMrdoua conditicne.
lift and SVFtt; The watchward lsj if you cannot complete the flightofe manner, don't fly.
Dangers involved when piloteto report hard landinge.
ccident rates and tho needore serious and professional approach to flying.
2.
Invest iflet ion
local board of Keviev7 accident ofanuary completed onarch.
Statue of other investigations Hated in January Safety Report la unchanged.
2 eecident9 is alao under investigation. The PIC Involved proceeded on STO before completing the required accident information. hXSGK haaeccrandum precluding flight crews and Inveatigation Team members from further flying dutlee, TDY, STt, or leave, except emergency leave, until released by the Investigation "oca Head.
3. Ground Safety Inspection. Tha quarterly inspection wasebruary by KGi TMi. General impressions were that there hae been impn rveoant in reducing equipment and facility hazard a, and the eupervisore are definitely aware of the needighter approach to ground safety. Lack of needed eafety equipment and supplies affects the safety prograa, however, the supervisors have shown ingenuity in improving material and facilities available. will now be placed on correcting the safety hesards which were picked up as repeat ltema.
1. CoorClnotlng Mootinns - Onhe BM, ASM, MFD HEAPS SOU and OSaFE TPEriefing. Army Aviation in Vietnam at the roqueet of Major tieneral Robert a. "llliams, USAliV Aviation Officer. Mutual problems in operations and flight safety were discussed. Filot fatigueefinite problem in US*itV, however operational roqulremente take priority. USAAV baa limltoo *rmy Aviatorslying houra ln anyonoocutlve day period.
OnFD and MSaFa SCKeeting of the Joint Air Operations Group, e composition and purpose of thie group has been discussed in previous reports. Frankly, Air America does notood image with tha military. AAH wua grouped with VM civilians entering runway, and Air Vietnam flights ae nasards over which tha military is cognisant but baa no affective control. Aa elated before, the great majority of traffic conflicts are due to lack of UHF and FM radios in AAM aircraft. The conflicts will be largely eliminated by installation of these vital radloe.
XII. TECHKICAL SoaVZCS
e-ry.,low month for flying times. Several factorsU> The short,ayay TetCong starting their new military offensive in tha laaturfew Airport Security reducing ourahlft, affecting production schedules.
The Can Tho AKD Project ie continuing to Improve ln capability and as finally received our new radio HF crystals from tonus, with very prompt action/support frcm ftKD newaintenance radio sot up that givaeCan-Tho direct contact with 3XD Maintenance Control Office Saigon. TheP sots are on long term loan froa the Customer. The Improved cocauunieutiono has enable prompt support to Can-Tho and reduce down times of the aircraft based there.
Concentrated efforts are being made to reduce tho eeployeoe' acciaaulated CTO, on the books, be have halo cown the scheduling of overtime and positive results reflect it. The thongew rockcte Into Saigon and tha curfew changes and greater raetrictlona on the airfield cut into our production and forced ua to schedule overtime, particularly on the graveyard ehift.
The beet rbuop repaying project Is movingteady pace, but It now appears ths contractor will not cake the completion deadlineore realistic date Is5
u. PEG) has taken over the dally/periodic maintenance of all powered ground erfuipoent and reliability is expected to lap rove considerably.
PXD has been assigned aore plant daily maintenance reill ti as, such as trash disposal formerly handled by RXD. In addition PXD hasustodial service crew that will take care of the office cleaning to include polishing of floors.
Services
1 Service
2
3
4 *
ehange
Issues
(.2
Credits
to cards
FLT EG (Continued of page 2)
18. For, February turned out to be dfsast-ous to say the least. Between the customers' cut back, the Tet holiday and the temporaryin liaison with INv maintenance on major over haul parts, tha program will end upours of flying. This ia down about 3CO hour* froa last month.
y pilots' meeting was hold onh withttending. The rest were briefed throughout the aonth. MFD aat in on the meeting. He also made some coaaienta about the professional attitude of the pilots.
Four route cheeks were given this month. The aMFSD/RW did not make hla regular trip to Sairon. The program was not hurt too bad, due to fact that we were ahead on proficiency checks. The two First Officers up for Initial Captnln checks will be held up till next aonth,
The Banning level for5 prorraa is down toilots with one more pilot resigning effpetlveith the loss of flying tlae and pilots, the situation has scaled Itself out. In fact, the pilot flying tine Is down, is month the average pilot tine will be about
onth.
aonth It was dlicovered locallyJ( in the processhauling major components, was nutting parts back into majorwere out of tlae and should have been thrown away. The components werecontrol systems of the helicopter. Immediate grounding orders went
out to all aircraft affected; then the long process of gettingircraft flying again. Itaysourson-Revenue tlae
and countless hours of lost revenue tlae on the grounded helicopters.
he overall morale in theis very good despite the lack of flying, for the most part, uvcrytouy is very optimistic about the months ahead.
start edHULSE M. Hulse
SAIGON BASS FLIGHT TIME REPORT9
Contract VH-41
TJC Mo.
B910
B926
B923
B138
B1L6
B154
B817
K77Y
'-"i
3 -
s 42
tal
tal
Revenue- Plight
Total Non-Reveuue Plight
Total Ravenue Block
Total Non-Rev.nue Block
grand TOTAL PLIGHT
CRaND TOTAL BLOCI
Type
c-46
C-47
DSZ-U
VTB
Beech)
PC-6
H395
TOTAL -
FLIGHT INFORMATION SAIOIN MONTHLY ACTIVITY89
IRCRAFT INCIDENTS
o,ontract t Place
2 Feb
eb
eb
eb
eb
eb
C963
V-Cl
v-?3
V-23
V-40
6
wes firing low down the coost due to weather when he took one round ln the heater compartment, door, passing through the transmission deck,ydraulic Una and exitingotor blade.
Pilot was turning basehen heracers off his right wing. No bits.
PIC was climbing out3 when
they took one hit In the right prop
dove. They bad to shut down the right engine
and returned and landed.
Plane was turning on right base for
lndg on rnvyhen PIC heard email
eras fire directed at his aircraft.
He added and continued his approach
anding.
Plane was cllablng out from the strip when approximately one mile out It cane under fire, sustaining two hits ln the tail section.
Plane was on final for runwayifle shot was heard, and the round was heard passing close aboard the aircraft. No hits.
Aircraft was enroutet an altitude of
hen three saall arms rounds ware
heard passing nearby.
PIC climbed into the overcast and
continued on course. No hits.
eb
eb
eb
BT
5
5
ro'.ads vera heard and observed being fired froa thla position. No damage. Aircraftifferent PIC from the incident above.
Shortlytake off froo the field PIC heard small area fire directed townrd the aircraft. No hits.
while Hying' due to low weather conditions, plane arme under fire at this position, PIC climbed Into the overcast and departed the area. No hits.
PART II SITUATION SQMUftT
The enemy launched their spring offensive in the early noming hours ofebruary lnstedd of before TET as mentioned in laet months report. The attaoka by fire on military units and civilian populated areas have been too numerous to count. During the reporting period, Saigon was hitumber of rounds of rocket and mortar fire on several occasions, resultingumber of desd and wounded. Hundredsn aade homeless. VC penetrated both Saigon and Danang. The avail unit which entered Saigon distributed propaganda In the Cholon area. The enemy entering Danang were driven from the city by allied troops. Their actions restricted our activities at Danang becausea hour curfew imposed on the area. Blen Hoa was tha scene of one of the heaviest ground attaoks eo far in the offensive. The attacks on the Base there caused an Increased alert status here, which delayed many employeee on their way to work. Terrdrlete activities greatly increased ln Saigon, as well as other oltlee, Isaedletely prior to, and since the start of the new offensive. The enemy hasumber of AA gun were reported in operation within four kiloaetere of tbe field. One was eaptured and another destroyed. AnotherM gun waa reported three ailee south of the field at Juang Mgal umber of smaller AA gun positions ware reported, mostly in Region III. In one of the largest cached found ln Region III northwest of Saigon, the enemy hadKM rockets with oversised war heads. Many AA machine guns were also in the cache. hirty truck enemy convoy was sighted Juetiles from the Blen Hoa Alrbase. The number of truck and vehicle sightings have been increasing monthly.
The enoy has committedaall part of hia available troupe and resources so far. There are indications that the ground attacke on Long Binh, Blen Hoa and other Installations have been probing actions and the major assault is yet to come and will probably be sometime ln the nextoays.
tCTACn*fflR "B"
-4 CO
5
8
3
R co
ri | I *
& Aa 3
GROUND TZM&OinmQH9
During the nonth of1 Kicrobuaoa ware In coaadsalon daily.v- ara tha GTD ataUatlca for1 Microbuaea on atation and in daily operation
2 ksi47a
i.20
. approx
rs
C97
m
kn - 1 odlos
50PPLy_ra
2LflCS LAMB;iETTA IN WUVVXLWi 3CHEIOLSS
HONDA nr^-TIKB;
ra.
GRAND TOTAL PAXAX
ATTACHMENT
Original document.
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