Jump to content

Hearing loss and rigging in ears experience with VA


BRlang
 Share

Recommended Posts

I don't know the tail number and cannot find any record of the incident anywhere on the web. I don't know if the information was scrubbed as were were moving Cambodians from Cambodia to Nha Trang for training. We then hauled them to Bien Hoa to be put on barges on the Mekong River back to Cambodia.  I had a hundred or so combat loaded on pallets on the floor. Thanks for the photographs. The plane was buddy started. Ironically my crew did the buddy start several weeks after the plane blew up. Actually it was not from a hostile event. I heard people say it was hit by a rocket, took a mortar round or a shachel charge was put in the wheel well. The front left main brake locked up. All that damage was from a hot brake and tire explosion. We had just taxied in and as we stopped the plane made a very loud noise and shook as we stopped. The A/C asked me to jump out and inspect the wheel well. I crawled under and saw nothing wrong. Just as I walked back up the ramp and started unloading the troops it blew up. Knocked me down and bodies were flying everywhere. The dozen or so sitting next to the blast had a very bad outcome.we were doing engine running offload when it exploded. We had a pretty good fire going for a few minutes. 

You can see the blood on the floor in your last photo. My FE snapped a picture of me as they were putting out the fire. My eyes tell the story.      

img015.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Jack, any chance you know the tail number or date range on this incident. This blast is part of my VA claim and it would be very helpful to be able to time stamp the event. I Have all my flight records. With the date or tail number I could give more detail in my appeal..Thanks for the pictures

 

BR Lang

Link to comment
Share on other sites

         I will dig thru the pictures again to see if the photos were dated.. The wife came to Saigon in the fall  of '70... She says I talked about the job while there.. 

   Give me a few days to dig............ NanJac.........

 

              

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

        Bill, 

           All that's on the back is "Sept '70".... The same pictures I've posted....(USAF product)

           The picture with me has no date at all... (BX photo shop)

           The wife was there the second week of Oct '70.. (Found hotel bill, VNP 15000)

           I think I made two, maybe three trips to the site with tools and parts... Didn't get to see the blow job...

           I would like the name of the base and tail number if you ever get it figured..  (90 deg. and clear here today)

           Thanks for the memories..

                  NanJac...........;-)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jack, I think I found the tail number. Don't know the entire number but look where the foam slid down under the cockpit.  This photo was shortly after we had fire out.

Looks like 847. My flight logs show I last flew that plane on August 9th, 1970. 5.4 combat hours and 6 sorties. I was in the 345th out of CCK.

I have looked at that photo several times and just noticed the number. Now I wonder what ever happened to the aircraft. 

img014.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

My claim is in the "Black Hole" as they call it. From reading this memo it should be approved. I'v been denied. I asked for a re determination and it was denied as well. I have now appealed and are waiting for a response. I think it is still a couple of years out. Thank you for that memo. I will use it if I get turned down this time. I feel good about this appeal. I think they turn you down the first time and hope you will go away.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

The VA said my hearing was down enough to give me hearing aids, but not bad enough to warrant any compensation.  The audiologist at the VA told me to have another test next year for compensation.  She thinks I should get some compensation, but she can't make that decision - it has to come from the pension/disability people...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They have a grid where they enter your readings from the test. It has to equal a certain number to be compensated. I just want to get something from my ringing. My ears been buzzing since I got blown out of the back of a C-130. They said since I didn't report it at the time they could not take that into consideration. I had several casualties and some that didn't make it. I wasn't bleeding and nothing broken. Did they expect me to wave down a medic and talk about my ears when the are trying to save the poor guys that were sitting where the blast came into the aircraft...It's in a appeal. Maybe some one with common sense will review it and make the right decision.. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 4/20/2017 at 11:36 AM, BRlang said:

They have a grid where they enter your readings from the test. It has to equal a certain number to be compensated. I just want to get something from my ringing. My ears been buzzing since I got blown out of the back of a C-130. They said since I didn't report it at the time they could not take that into consideration. I had several casualties and some that didn't make it. I wasn't bleeding and nothing broken. Did they expect me to wave down a medic and talk about my ears when the are trying to save the poor guys that were sitting where the blast came into the aircraft...It's in a appeal. Maybe some one with common sense will review it and make the right decision.. 

Well youdid the right thing and was more concerned about your passengers/ crew.

Did you have to see the Doc post incident? Maybe there is a record of the visit which could help substantiate your claim. There is an incident report for sure maybe get that as well and provide all the pieces for the review.

Good luck!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never saw the Flight Surgeon. We caught a ride back to TSN where we were met with a safety team to de-brief us. We were grounded for three days until they came back and put us back on the line to fly. There is no record of the incident anywhere. We were part of a Cambodian mission and I think the scrubbed the records. I have seen other pictures of the aircraft on this site. Another poster on this board led the MX team to patch up the plane, chain the gear and fly it back to CCK. Glad I didn't get that flight. Ben Hoa to CCK wheels down!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

I was diagnosed with hearing loss decades ago and filed a claim with the VA when I started going to the VA for medical treatment in early 2011. They awarded me 10% for tinnitus and 0% for hearing loss. Recently, my DAV VSO insisted I have my hearing checked again and file a new claim. I did and more loss was detected. The DAV filed a claim for me and the VA said my rating will remain at 0%. I've been wearing VA-provided hearing aids since 2011. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...