VIDEO: National Air Cargo Boeing 747 on takeoff rolls to the left, corrects, yaws to the right, and then rolls to the right and crashes.
A civilian cargo aircraft, National Airlines Flight 102, crashed at Bagram Air Field near the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, killing all seven people aboard. The Beoing 747-400 cargo aircraft flying for coalition forces came down shortly after take-off and crashed within the boundaries of the US-run airbase, according to a NATO spokesperson at the base.
Al seven crew members are confirmed to have been killed in the crash.
The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the crash, but the coalition dismissed the claim as “false” in a statement to AP.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by authorities, but no sign of insurgent activity in the area was spotted at the time, according to another coalition statement. Investigators are looking at the possibility of load shift of the cargo inside the aircraft, which may have caused unpredictable behavior of the aircraft and instability during takeoff. Radio communications from the flight crew indicated accidental load shift on takeoff.
Flight 102 was flying on behalf of the Air Mobility Command, headquartered at Scott AFB in Illinois, just east of St. Louis. Aircraft assets of the Air Mobility Command include: C-17 Globemaster III, C-5 Galaxy, C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, and KC-10 Extender. Additional long-range airlift aircraft are available during national emergencies through the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, a fleet of commercial aircraft committed to support the transportation of military forces and material in times of crisis.
National Airlines formerly operated charter passenger flights from Chicago Rockford International Airport.