Another airdrop method was LAPES, a low-altitude parachute extraction system in which the C-130 would approach the drop zone as if to land, but level off just above the ground long enough for an extraction parachute to pull a single platform out of the airplane. LAPES afforded delivery of large items with pinpoint accuracy. There was one problem with LAPES — the platforms would slide for some distance over the ground until the extraction parachute brought them to a halt. On February 21, a C-130 inbound for a LAPES mission inadvertently struck the ground, tearing off the airplane’s rear ramp and causing the load to extract early and break apart. The careening cargo killed one Marine and injured another. In mid-March, an extraction parachute separated from the load during the extraction, allowing the platform to go wild, smashing into a bunker and killing a man inside.

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Another problem with LAPES was that the system required a special electrical harness, and with the increased demand, these harnesses soon were in short supply. In early March, 10 sets of LAPES harnesses were destroyed by incoming fire as they set in the cargo area awaiting transportation to the rear for reuse. LAPES was itself a derivative of an earlier system TAC had developed in the early ?60s that used a hook to snare an arresting cable and extract the load. Though the system, known as GPES for ground proximity extraction system, had been discontinued, the equipment was stored in warehouses at TAC bases in the States. The equipment was airlifted to Southeast Asia. In mid-March, an Air Force combat-control team, assisted by Marines and Seabees, installed the arresting cable across the runway at Khe Sanh while the 274th TAW at Naha trained crews for the missions.

On March 30, the first GPES mission was flown to Khe Sanh. It was so successful that the Marines reported that only two eggs from a crate placed on the pallet arrived with broken shells! Over the next several days, more drops were flown, some of which met with problems as the crews adjusted to the new system. On the second drop, the moorings for the arresting cable were pulled from the ground and had to be reburied. After the first few days of use, the Marines and Air Force concluded that GPES was superior to LAPES for the conditions at Khe Sanh.

Because of their low altitude deliveries, the LAPES and GPES missions and C-123 landings were more spectacular, but it was the CDS method that delivered most of the cargo that arrived at Khe Sanh during the siege. Even though CDS crews were not required to land and risk exposure to shelling and fire while on the ground, the drop missions nevertheless involved great danger for the crews. Groundfire was a constant threat throughout the run-in and during the drop itself, while low clouds and low visibilities in an area of high terrain made the drop missions even more hazardous. At least bad weather provided a cloak that made the low-flying C-130s and C-123s invisible to enemy forces on the ground. (Fortunately, the enemy had few radar-aimed guns around Khe Sanh.)

While most CDS missions were successful, on occasion a load would be dropped too early or too late, resulting in an even more hazardous recovery operation by the ground personnel who were already exposed on the drop zone. Some loads had to be abandoned, no doubt to be recovered by enemy forces. One CDS load fell within the combat base; five men were killed by the heavily laden pallets.

In spite of the weather and threat from groundfire, no Air Force C-130s were lost at Khe Sanh during the siege (though a C-130B from the 463rd TAW crashed during landing shortly after the base was relieved). Air Force aircraft losses were confined to C-123s. Three were lost in less than a week. On March 1, mortar fire knocked out an engine of a C-123 as it lifted off the runway; the pilot forced the airplane back onto the ground, where it was eventually destroyed by shelling. Fortunately, the crew survived, as did all the passengers. On the 6th, a C-123 was hit by groundfire several miles east of the base. The airplane spiraled to the ground and exploded, killing all 49 people aboard. The loss occurred when the pilot had to break off his first landing attempt when an unannounced Vietnamese light aircraft suddenly appeared. Later that same day, shelling damaged a C-123; further shelling destroyed the airplane before it could be repaired and flown out of harm’s way. Those three were among four fixed-wing transports lost at Khe Sanh during the siege.

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