US publishes details of Bagram 747 crash
24 / 02 / 2015
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released preliminary information from the ongoing investigation into the crash two years ago of a National Airlines Boeing 747 freighter in Afghanistan. The accident at Bagram Air Base on 29 April 2013 killed all seven crew members.
Only factual information is included in the docket, which includes documents and photographs. Analysis and a determination of probable cause will come later with the final report.
The Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority delegated the remainder of the investigation to the NTSB last October.
Much of the investigation into the crash so far has centred on loading and pallet building techniques at National Airlines. The load of the aircraft included several 18-ton army vehicles on pallet.
The airline’s director of safety has told the investigation that he was not consulted on whether there were any risks attached to the transport of heavy, centre-loaded floating palletized loads. The investigation also examined the flight crew’s experience in handling and transporting such loads, and the level of training and informational available to loading staff.
As part of the investigation, National Airlines loading staff at Camp Bastion who worked on the doomed aircraft carried out a demonstration of pallet loading techniques for similar large vehicles. Airline staff were also quizzed on the level of oversight of loading operations at overseas stations.
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