Ia Drang River ( Vietnamese : Sông Ia Drăng ), also known as the Prêk Drang in Cambodia , is a tributary of the Srepok River in the Mekong river system that flows through Vietnam and Cambodia.
31-630: The river originates from the hills in southern Pleiku , the provincial capital of Gia Lai province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. It then flows southwestwards, through Chư Prông district and enters the Ou Ya Dav District of Ratanakiri province in northeast Cambodia, before joining the Srepok River . The valley northeast of the Chư Prông massif, through which the river flows,
62-451: A Bangkok Post journalist, "a police officer whose fiancée and daughter were aboard was charged with the crime". Somchai Chaiyasut, who had taken out three travel insurance policies on his fiancée and daughter, was declared not guilty due to lack of evidence. He sued the insurance companies and received 5.5 million baht ($ US 180,000). He died of cancer in 1985. It was reported that "airline staff and relatives [had considered] hiring
93-417: A Convair 880 (VR-HFZ) from Bangkok to Hong Kong, disintegrated and crashed while the aircraft was flying at 29,000 feet (8,800 m) over Pleiku, Vietnam after a bomb exploded in a suitcase placed under a seat in the cabin, killing all 81 people on board. After the fall of Buôn Ma Thuột to a major North Vietnamese assault in early 1975, and the resulting insecurity of National Route 19 leading from Qui Nhơn ,
124-645: Is a city in central Vietnam , located in the Central Highlands region. It is the capital of the Gia Lai Province . Many years ago, it was inhabited primarily by the Bahnar and Jarai ethnic groups, sometimes known as the Montagnards or Degar , although now it is inhabited primarily by the Kinh ethnic group. The city is the centre of the urban district of Pleiku which covers an area of 260.77 km² (100 mi²). As of 2023,
155-510: Is home to the Hoàng Anh Gia Lai football club. The city sits at the junction of several national roads— National Route 14 to Kon Tum in the north and Buôn Ma Thuột in the south and National Route 19 to Stung Treng in Cambodia in the west (via Ratanakiri Province ) and to Bình Định Province in the east. In addition, Pleiku is served by Pleiku Airport in the near outskirts of
186-454: Is located at an average altitude of 700m - 800m; Ham Rong junction, or the junction of National Highway 14 and National Highway 19 south of Pleiku , has an altitude of 785m. In 1971, during the Republic of Vietnam, Pleiku provincial capital had 34,867 residents. According to the statistical, the city's population includes 28 ethnic groups; The Kinh people make up the majority (87.5%),
217-541: Is located between National Highway 14 and National Route 19 near the Indochina intersection of neighboring Cambodia and Laos on the Ho Chi Minh Highway . Pleiku occupies 26,076.8 hectares, and is the economic, political, cultural and social center of Gia Lai province. Pleiku is 465 km north of Ho Chi Minh City , 1,287 km south of Hanoi , 181 km from Buôn Ma Thuột and 377 km from Da Nang . Pleiku
248-643: Is the site of the Battle of Ia Drang in November 1965, during the Vietnam War . 13°18′58″N 107°20′18″E / 13.316118481867°N 107.33822933382°E / 13.316118481867; 107.33822933382 This article about a location in Vietnam is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Cambodian location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pleiku Pleiku
279-474: The UK Civil Aviation Authority were sent to examine the area. The spread of debris suggested that the airplane had broken into three large sections, with the breakpoints almost exactly along the front and rear of the wingbox , prior to hitting the ground, and the relative closeness of these sections suggested that this breakup had occurred at a low altitude. Other debris, including two engines and
310-511: The Vietnam War because it was the primary terminus of the military supply logistics corridor extending westwards along Highway 19 from the coastal population centre and port facilities of Qui Nhơn . Additionally, its central location on the plateau, between Kon Tum to the North, Buôn Ma Thuột to the south, and the North Vietnamese Army 's base areas inside Cambodia to the west made Pleiku
341-472: The CV-880), 42-year-old second First Officer Leslie Boyer (5,783 flight hours, with 1,529 hours on the CV-880), and 36-year-old Flight Engineer Ken Hickey (4,246 flight hours, with 2,595 on the CV-880). There were six cabin crew of Hong Kong nationals led by two pursers, William Yuen and Dicky Kong. Flight 700Z originated from Singapore with a scheduled stopover at Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport , with
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#1732852681638372-476: The aircraft, including but not limited to the damage found on the horizontal and vertical stabilizer. The aircraft likely descended rapidly in an "erratic" manner. At an undetermined point in this descent, the horizontal stabilizer separated from the airplane entirely, and eventually the fuselage broke into the three sections initially found by searchers. Following a UK Civil Aviation Authority and Hong Kong police investigation, as well as six years of reporting by
403-466: The airplane was flying on course at 29,000 feet (8,800 m) at a speed of 310 knots (570 km/h) until 0559 GMT (1259 local time), at which point the recorded data became nonsensical for 30 seconds before stopping entirely. The aircraft was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder. Upon examining the available debris, it soon became clear that the aircraft had suffered some sort of structural problem and loss of control at cruising altitude, and that
434-524: The city has a population of around 274.018 people. The name Pleiku first appeared in the Governor-General of French Indochina records in 1905, in the decree that established the province of Gia Lai. The Decree of the Governor-General of Indochina dated July 4, 1905, established an autonomous province in the western mountainous region of Binh Dinh province, naming it Plei-Kou-Derr . This marked
465-540: The city. 13°59′N 108°00′E / 13.983°N 108.000°E / 13.983; 108.000 Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z bombing Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z was a flight from Singapore to Hong Kong operated by Cathay Pacific using a Convair CV-880 aircraft that crashed in Pleiku , then in South Vietnam on the afternoon of 15 June 1972, killing all 81 passengers and crew on board. It remains
496-578: The colonial period and is still the official name of the city today. At the end of the First Indochina War , in June 1954, the French Army Groupe Mobile 100 was ordered to fall back from An Khê to Pleiku and then to reopen Route Coloniale 14 between Pleiku and Buôn Ma Thuột . This led to the last battle of the war: the Battle of Mang Yang Pass . Pleiku was strategically important during
527-421: The converted population, there are about 504,984 people. Pleiku city is divided into 22 commune-level administrative units, including 14 wards: Chi Lang , Dien Hong , Dong Da , Hoa Lu , Hoi Phu , Hoi Thuong , Ia Kring , Phu Dong , Tay Son , Thang Loi , Thong Nhat , Tra Ba , Yen Do , Yen The and 8 communes: An Phu , Bien Ho , Chu A , Dien Phu , Gao , Ia Kenh , Tan Son , Tra Da . The city
558-548: The deadliest aviation incident involving a Convair CV-880. An investigation was carried out by officials from Great Britain, Cathay Pacific's parent company the Swire Group and the Hong Kong Police but efforts to retrieve wreckage and study the crash site were hampered by ongoing fighting in the region due to the Vietnam War . An inquiry later determined the crash to have been caused by an explosive device, likely located within
589-423: The final destination being Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport . The first leg of the flight proceeded without incident before the aircraft took off from Bangkok at midday with 71 passengers and ten crew members on board. The crew made regular radio contact for the initial leg of the flight. At 0542 hours GMT (1242 local time), the flight made contact with Saigon ACC. At 0544, the crew made a routine transmission updating
620-522: The first official use of the name Plei-Kou in writing. The word Plơi means "village" in Jarai , while Kơdưr can mean either "north" or "upper". Therefore, the name Pleiku can be translated as "upper village" or "village in the north". The word Derr is likely a Jarai word that was added to the name Pleiku by the French to distinguish it from other villages in the area. The name Pleiku has been used since
651-481: The flight may have collided with an American military plane with Reuters and Agence France-Presse claiming Flight 700Z to have been involved in a mid-air collision. However, no reports emerged of any other aircraft missing in the area. The wreckage was located by a United States Army helicopter in "lightly wooded" terrain on a remote hilltop near Pleiku, still burning, not long after Saigon ACC lost contact. Although two bodies were retrieved almost immediately,
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#1732852681638682-444: The horizontal stabilizer also showed signs of being damaged by debris in the air. Many bodies were not recovered, possibly because they had been ejected very early in this sequence. An investigator working at the crash site summarised that the plane suffered an explosive decompression around 1pm local time when lunch was being served and that the passengers standing in the aisle or queuing for the lavatory and cabin crew members overseeing
713-426: The horizontal stabilizer, could be seen further away from helicopters, but could not be reached on foot due to war activity. The rear section of the aircraft was later found impaled on a tree with the bodies of thirteen passengers and two cabin crew members still inside while the middle section was found to have exploded on impact with the ground. The aircraft's flight data recorder was recovered and read; it showed that
744-441: The low-altitude breakup was caused by the overstressing of the airplane during an uncontrolled descent. Debris from the centre fuselage and right wing root showed signs of explosive "splash", and the number 3 fuel tank showed signs that it had ruptured prior to the low-altitude breakup inferred from the wreckage distribution. The vertical stabilizer showed signs that it had been struck by "at least one body and possibly some seats", and
775-566: The main centre of defense of the entire highland region of the Republic of Vietnam . This was obvious to both sides; the United States established an armed presence very early in the conflict at Camp Holloway , and the Việt Cộng attack on this base in early 1965 was one of the key escalating events that brought U.S. troops into the conflict. On 15 June 1972, Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z , operating
806-463: The meal service were sucked out of the aircraft as it disintegrated. Without being able to better examine the wreckage, and lacking valid flight data from the final moments of the flight, it is not known what exactly happened after 0559 GMT. Investigators concluded that what is apparent is that some sort of explosive device, likely located within the passenger cabin near the right wingbox, detonated at that time, causing unknown but catastrophic damage to
837-474: The passenger cabin. A Thai national was arrested as a suspect in the bombing but later acquitted at trial. Flight 700Z was flown using a Convair CV-880 which had been manufactured in 1961 and bore the registration VR-HFZ. The Captain of the flight was 43-year-old Australian national Neil Morison (who had a total of 14,343 flights hours, including 5,261 hours logged on the CV-880), 38-year-old First Officer Lachlan Mackenzie (7,649 flights hours, with 2,867 hours on
868-403: The presence of hostile Vietcong forces nearby made it very difficult to examine the wreckage in depth. South Vietnamese soldiers were drafted in to search for the wreckage and secure the crash site. It was reported that before the area was secured, local villagers had gone through the wreckage looking for valuables. A team of investigators from Cathay Pacific's parent company the Swire Group and
899-428: The president, Nguyễn Văn Thiệu , ordered the hasty evacuation of Pleiku. The military operation to attempt the withdrawal of ARVN forces, down the poorly maintained tertiary road LTL-7B through Ayun Pa to Tuy Hòa , led to a catastrophe in which over 100,000 evacuees from Pleiku and Kon Tum were killed or left stranded without support. Pleiku is located in the center of Gia Lai province and borders: Pleiku
930-410: The progress of their route, adding that they would expect to reach their next waypoint by 0606 GMT. This was the last transmission received from the flight. After Saigon lost contact with the aircraft, they made an appeal for information to both Hong Kong and Taipei ACC which produced negative results. Saigon then initiated an investigation as to the aircraft's whereabouts. Initial reports speculated that
961-588: The rest are other ethnic groups, mainly the Gia Rai and Ba Na ethnic groups (12.5%). The number of people of working age is about 328,240 people, accounting for 65% of the population. The natural population growth rate decreased rapidly, reaching 1.12% in 2008. Ethnic minorities live mainly in villages such as Plei Op village (Hoa Lu ward), Kep village (Dong Da ward), Brúk Ngol village (Yen The ward), and some other villages. The entire urban area has 62,829 households with 274,048 people with permanent residence. Including