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Crash of a Boeing 747-428BCF at Bagram AFB: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 29, 2013 at 1527 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N949CA
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Camp Bastion - Bagram AFB - Dubaï
MSN:
25630/960
YOM:
1993
Flight number:
NCR102
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Captain / Total flying hours:
6000
Captain / Total hours on type:
440.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
1100
Copilot / Total hours on type:
209
Circumstances:
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Bagram Air Base, Bagram, Afghanistan. All seven crewmembers—the captain, first officer, loadmaster, augmented captain and first officer, and two mechanics—died, and the airplane was destroyed from impact forces and postcrash fire. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 supplemental cargo flight, which was operated under a multimodal contract with the US Transportation Command, was destined for Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The airplane’s cargo included five mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles secured onto pallets and shoring. Two vehicles were 12-ton MRAP all-terrain vehicles (M-ATVs) and three were 18-ton Cougars. The cargo represented the first time that National Airlines had attempted to transport five MRAP vehicles. These vehicles were considered a special cargo load because they could not be placed in unit load devices (ULDs) and restrained in the airplane using the locking capabilities of the airplane’s main deck cargo handling system. Instead, the vehicles were secured to centerline-loaded floating pallets and restrained to the airplane’s main deck using tie-down straps. During takeoff, the airplane immediately climbed steeply then descended in a manner consistent with an aerodynamic stall. The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation found strong evidence that at least one of the MRAP vehicles (the rear M-ATV) moved aft into the tail section of the airplane, damaging hydraulic systems and horizontal stabilizer components such that it was impossible for the flight crew to regain pitch control of the airplane. The likely reason for the aft movement of the cargo was that it was not properly restrained. National Airlines’ procedures in its cargo operations manual not only omitted required, safety-critical restraint information from the airplane manufacturer (Boeing) and the manufacturer of the main deck cargo handling system (Telair, which held a supplemental type certificate [STC] for the system) but also contained incorrect and unsafe methods for restraining cargo that cannot be contained in ULDs. The procedures did not correctly specify which components in the cargo system (such as available seat tracks) were available for use as tie-down attach points, did not define individual tie-down allowable loads, and did not describe the effect of measured strap angle on the capability of the attach fittings.
Probable cause:
The NTSB determines that the probable cause of this accident was National Airlines’ inadequate procedures for restraining special cargo loads, which resulted in the loadmaster’s
improper restraint of the cargo, which moved aft and damaged hydraulic systems No . 1 and 2 and horizontal stabilizer drive mechanism components, rendering the airplane uncontrollable. Contributing to the accident was the FAA’s inadequate oversight of National Airlines’ handling of special cargo loads.
Final Report:

Crash of a Lockheed L-382E-20C Hercules near Kabul: 8 killed

Date & Time: Oct 12, 2010 at 1950 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
5X-TUC
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Bagram - Kabul
MSN:
4362
YOM:
1969
Flight number:
NCR662
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The four engine aircraft departed Bagram AFB on a short flight to Kabul, carrying 8 crew members and a load of various equipment on behalf of the NATO forces based in Pakistan. En route, while cruising by night, the aircraft impacted a rocky face located 30 km east of Kabul. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 8 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules at Sharana AFB

Date & Time: Jun 4, 2010
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
S9-BAT
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
4134
YOM:
1966
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Upon landing, the undercarriage collapsed. The aircraft slid on its belly for few dozen metres then veered off runway to the right and came to rest in a sandy area. All four crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It is believed that the airplane touched down few metres short of runway 14/32 which is 4,265 feet long, causing the landing gear to be torn off.