Tue, Apr 30, 2013
Plane Went Down Shortly After Takeoff From Bagram Air Field
A Boeing 747-400 belonging to National Air Cargo went down Monday afternoon at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. The plane reportedly had eight crew members and five military vehicles on board. There was no immediate word on casualties.
The Aviation Herald reports that the airplane went down about 1530 local time and caught fire at the end of the runway inside the air field perimeter. Witnesses said that the plane had just lifted off when it abruptly pitched up and appeared to stall about 1,200 feet above the ground.
It is the second aircraft accident in four days with casualties in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense has confirmed four crewmembers on board an MC-12 (similar airplane pictured in file photo) were killed April 27 when their aircraft went down in the Zabul province in southern Afghanistan.
Capt. Brandon Cyr, 28, a KC-135 instructor pilot, was a member of the 906th Air Refueling Squadron within the 375th Air Mobility Wing, its parent unit for administrative purposes. However, he flew alongside members of the Illinois Air National Guard's 126th Air Refueling Wing as part of the Air Force's Total Force Integration efforts, and as a result, the loss is deeply felt by members in both wings at Scott Air Force Base in IL., said Col. David Almand, 375th AMW commander.
Cyr was assigned to Scott AFB in 2009--part of an initial team of pilots who help to stand up the 906th ARS for the TFI effort, and most recently served as an executive officer for the 126th ARW commander, Col. Peter Nezamis. At the time of his death, he had earned more than 1,700 flying hours--900 of those in combat.
The other Airmen fatally injured were all from Beale AFB, CA. They are Capt. Reid Nishizuka, and Staff Sgts. Richard Dickson and Daniel Fannin. They all had been deployed in support of NATO missions in the area, and initial reporting indicated there was no enemy activity in the area at the time. NATO has confirmed that coalition personnel have secured the site.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
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