ORTENBLAD RICHARD T

CWO Richard T Ortenblad was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 03/12/1975 at the age of 26.2 from A/C accident
Flight Classes 70-9 and 70-5
Date of Birth 01/14/1949
Served in the U.S. Army
This information was provided by 7th Reunion

More detail on this person: He died on March 12, 1975, when is F-100F jet fighter crashed into Samaniego Peak during a training mission with his instructor pilot flying out of Davis Monthan AFB, AZ (Tucson area). Some articles state the accident was due to bad weather but that is not true. His flight was vectored into the mountain by Air Traffic Control and the pilots didn't have enough time to climb and avoid the crash. If I remember correctly, Rich flew SANDY (Search and Rescue) Missions in Viet Nam as a CWO helicopter pilot in the US Army. He became an AF Officer when he joined the South Dakota Air National Guard and went through pilot training at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, then was assigned to F-100 school in Tucson flying out of Davis-Monthan AFB when the accident occurred.

This information was last updated 09/30/2025

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Date posted on this site: 10/13/2025