The stalled NAC 747 freighter seconds before crash The National Transportation Safety Board has found that the National Airlines Boein...
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| The stalled NAC 747 freighter seconds before crash |
The National Transportation Safety Board has found that the National Airlines Boeing 747 freighter that crashed on takeoff from Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan on April 29, 2013, because the five large military vehicles it was carrying were inadequately restrained.
This led to at least one vehicle moving rearward, crippling key hydraulic systems and damaging the horizontal stabilizer components, which rendered the airplane uncontrollable. All seven crew members were killed in the crash.
The airplane attained a very steep nose-up attitude shortly after takeoff, before descending into the ground near the end of the runway.
Contributing to the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration’s inadequate oversight of National Airlines’ (NAL’s) handling of special cargo loads, such as that being carried on the accident flight.
The Boeing 747-400 freighter was carrying five mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles.
“The crew took on an important mission to support American forces abroad and lost their lives not to enemy fire, but to an accident,’’ said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart at the outset of the Board meeting. “We cannot change what happened, but in fully investigating this accident, we hope to find ways to prevent such an accident from happening again.”
The investigation found that National Airlines’ cargo operations manual not only omitted critical information from Boeing and from the cargo handling system manufacturer about properly securing cargo, but it also contained incorrect restraining methods for special cargo loads.
The Board recommended that the FAA create a certification process for personnel responsible for the loading, restraint, and documentation of special cargo loads on transport-category airplanes. Other recommendations call on the FAA to improve its ability to inspect cargo aircraft operations, specifically those involving special cargo loads.
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 cargo flight was destined for Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
To view the findings, the probable cause, and all recommendations, click on the following link: http://go.usa.gov/3fHTS
