| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 12 October 2010 |
| Summary | Crashed into a mountain peak while in approach sequence |
| Site | Near Hamid Karzai International Airport |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | L-100 Hercules |
| Operator | Transafrik International |
| IATA flight No. | PQ662 [1] |
| ICAO flight No. | TKU662 [2] [3] |
| Call sign | Transafrik 662 |
| Registration | 5X-TUC |
| Flight origin | Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan |
| Destination | Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan |
| Occupants | 8 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 8 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Transafrik International Flight 662 (aka TKU662), [4] was an L-100 cargo aircraft registered to Transafrik International of Uganda and leased to National Air Cargo "NAC" on a flight from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. [3] The aircraft impacted a mountain peak near the Kabul Airport causing the deaths of all eight crewmembers aboard. [5] [6]
Accident
After sunset, at about 7:20 p.m. local time, the aircraft departed Bagram Airfield (approximately 30 miles north of Kabul) for a short flight to Kabul, performing NATO supply freight flight MUA-662. [7] [3] TKU662, which was flying VFR, was asked by the Kabul Airport air traffic controller, Darrell Smith, to extend the outbound leg of flight in order to follow another flight inbound to the airport. [3] The pilot, Captain Henry Bulos, complied with the request and subsequently impacted a mountain in the Pol-e Charkhi area on the outskirts of Kabul. [3] The impact sight was approximately 11 kilometers northeast of Kabul Airport. [7] At about 19:50 local time (15:20 GMT), the air traffic controller observed a fireball at approximately 1000 feet above the airport elevation. [3] The impact occurred approximately 200 feet below a mountain peak. [7]
Aircraft
| Aircraft | Data |
|---|---|
| Aircraft Type | Fixed-wing multi-engine [8] |
| Aircraft model | L-100-20 Hercules [8] [9] |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed [8] |
| Serial number | 382-4362 [4] [8] |
| Year built | 1969 [8] |
| First Flight | 1969 [9] |
| Construction Number (C/N) | 382-4362 [8] |
| Number of Seats | 3 [8] |
| Number of Engines | 4 [8] |
| Engine Type | Turboprop [8] |
| Engine Manufacturer and Model | Allison AL501-D22A [8] [9] |
| Also Registered As | N522SJ-deregistered [8] |
Aftermath
On 2 October 2012, plaintiffs filed negligence complaints against Midwest ATC, NAC and Transafrik. The claims against NAC and Transafrik were dismissed. Midwest ATC (air traffic controller Darrell Smith's employer) claimed the pilot, Captain Bulos, was responsible for the crash since he was flying the L-100 under VFR flight rules and he was solely responsible for terrain avoidance. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit stated in their decision of 9 August 2021, "...we think that a reasonable jury could also find to the contrary that Smith should have foreseen that guiding the plane, at night, toward "jet black" terrain that he was unfamiliar with (and that lay outside Class D airspace) would result in danger to Flight 662." [3]
References
- ^ "Transafrik International Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. Planespotters.net. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Section 3. Three−Letter Designator/Aircraft Company/Telephony Decode". faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "United States Court of Appeals, Plaintiffs vs Midwest ATC" (PDF). supremecourt.gov. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Registration Details For 5X-TUC (Transafrik International) L-100-20 Hercules". planelogger.com. Plane Logger. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Cargo plane crashes near Kabul, seven dead: official". reuters.com. Reuters News Agency. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "Civilian cargo plane crashes near Afghan capital". CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ a b c "Cargo plane crashes near Kabul, 8 killed". aircrashconsult.info. aircrashconsult.info. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Aircraft 5X-TUC Data". airport-data.com. Airport-Data.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- ^ a b c "Database Record 20101012-0". aviation-safety.net. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 24 January 2023.