Map 15 of Maps of SEA in the 1960s

The same day the truce ended, an incident occurred that caused a change in air operations over the Steel Tiger.  On the morning of the February 12th, Laredo , a flight of three F-105s, was scheduled for the radar-controlled bombing of a bridge on Route 23.  The MSQ-77 radar was inoperative that morning, and Cricket control did not have a FAC available when Laredo flight flew over NKP en route to Laos .  The ABCCC cleared Laredo Lead to attack the bridge under his own control.  The flight leader initially had trouble locating the target, but on his second orbit in the target area, he picked out the road, river, and bridge.  The three F-105s rolled in on the target and delivered eighteen 750-pound bombs within 200 feet of the bridge.

Less than five minutes later, the Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force TACC received a report that the friendly village of Muang Phalan , Laos had just come under air attack.  Muang Phalan was on Route 9, about 45 miles west of the Communist transshipment point at Tchepone and 24 miles southwest of Laredo flight's actual target.

The casualties and damage caused by the accidental bombing caused a great deal of concern at the highest levels of the Laotian government.  Such accidents benefited the Pathet Lao and undermined the Laotian government's attempts to maintain stability.  It also was certainly not in the best interests of the United States to cause the Laotian government to put additional restrictions on the interdiction campaign.

Following the incident, Seventh Air Force restricted all armed reconnaissance missions in Laos and required all airstrikes in Steel Tiger and Tiger Hound to be under the positive control of a FAC or under MSQ-77 radar control. This restriction reversed the changes made to the armed reconnaissance rules in November 1966, and the Steel Tiger became a FAC-controlled environment once again.