Parwan

On 27 January 2020, at approximately 1309 hours local time (L), an E-11A, tail number (T/N) 11-9358, was destroyed after touching down in a field in Ghanzi Province, Afghanistan (AFG) following a catastrophic left engine failure. The mishap crew (MC) were deployed and assigned to the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron (EECS), Kandahar Airfield (KAF), AFG. The MC consisted of mishap pilot 1 (MP1) and mishap pilot 2 (MP2). The mission was both a Mission Qualification Training – 3 (MQT-3) sortie for MP2 and a combat sortie for the MC, flown in support of Operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL. MP1 and MP2 were fatally injured as a result of the accident, and the Mishap Aircraft (MA) was destroyed. At 1105L, the MA departed KAF. The mission proceeded uneventfully until the left engine catastrophically failed one hour and 45 minutes into the flight (1250:52L). Specifically, a fan blade broke free causing the left engine to shutdown. The MC improperly assessed that the operable right engine had failed and initiated shutdown of the right engine leading to a dual engine out emergency. Subsequently, the MC attempted to fly the MA back to KAF, approximately 230 nautical miles (NM) away. Unfortunately, the MC were unable to get either engine airstarted to provide any usable thrust. This resulted in the MA unable to glide the distance remaining to KAF. With few options remaining, the MC maneuvered the MA towards Forward Operating Base (FOB) Sharana, but did not have the altitude and airspeed to glide the remaining distance. The MC unsuccessfully attempted landing in a field approximately 21 NM short of FOB Sharana.

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.

The four engine aircraft departed Baku-Bina Airport at 2126LT on a cargo flight to Bagram AFB, carrying 9 crew members and a load of 18 tons of various goods destined to the NATO forces deployed in Afghanistan. While approaching Bagram AFB by night, at an altitude of 12,500 feet, the aircraft impacted the slope of a mountain located 25 km from the airport. The wreckage was found at the first light of day. The aircraft was destroyed and all 9 occupants were killed.

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.

The twin engine aircraft departed Kunduz Airport at 0900LT on a flight to Kabul, carrying 38 passengers and six crew members, among them six foreigners. En route, while flying in marginal weather conditions with limited visibility due to fog, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located south of the Salang Pass. The crew of an ISAF helicopter localized the wreckage 3 days later in a snow covered area at an altitude of 4,270 metres. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 44 occupants were killed.

While approaching Bagram AFB, the crew did not obtain the three green lights when the undercarriage were lowered. The left main gear signal appears to remain red. The captain obtained the authorization to make two low passes over the airport then ATC confirmed that all three gears were down. The final approach was completed at low speed and after touchdown, while braking, the left main gear collapsed. The aircraft veered off runway to the left and came to rest some 2 km past the runway threshold. All five crewmen were unhurt while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

After landing at Bagram AFB, the crew encountered difficulties to decelerate properly. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the aircraft overran, lost its right main gear and came to rest, bursting into flames. There were no injuries among the occupants and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The four engine aircraft was completing a humanitarian mission to Bagram AFB. After landing in poor weather conditions, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, lost its undercarriage and came to rest, bursting into flames. There were no injuries among the crew but the aircraft was destroyed.

In unknown circumstances, the aircraft caught fire shortly after landing at Bagram AFB. It came to rest on the runway and the crew was able to evacuate safely. The aircraft was destroyed by fire.

On return to Kabul from a reconnaissance mission south of the Panjshir Valley when the left engine was hit by a "Strela" shoulder-fired SAM 25 km north of Kabul and caught fire. Four of the six crew members were able to bail out and both pilots tried to land the burning aircraft at Bagram AFB. A first approach was abandoned, and during the second attempt to land, an aileron linkage was destroyed by fire and the aircraft went out of control and crashed in flames, killing both pilots.