Summary
A National Air Cargo Group (MUA) 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) [RT075/N949CA]
crashed shortly after takeoff from Bagram Air Force
Base (OAI), Afghanistan on April 29, 2013. There
were no survivors among the 7 crew members onboard. The event is under investigation by the Afghanistan Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism (MOCAT) with assistance from the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Air Cargo and Boeing. The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data were provided to Boeing for analysis.
The FDR data show a normal takeoff was performed
from OAI, but just after lift-off, the FDR recording
stopped with the airplane approximately 33 feet abov
e the ground. Video of the airplane just after lift-
off at a low altitude over the runway
shows an extremely high pitch attitude before experiencing a stall
and impacting the ground at a nose-down pitch attitude. The airplane was carrying five Mine Resistant
Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, each weighing at least 28,000 pounds. The available FDR data, Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) data, and physical evidence (video, airplane component analysis), withadditional support from simulation analysis, suggest th at around lift-off, at least one MRAP (aft-most)b roke loose of its restraints, shifted aft and damage
d the FDR/CVR before penetrating the aft pressure bulkhead. The MRAP’s aft movement was determined to have compromised at least Hydraulic Systems #1 and #2 and may have contacted the stabilizer jackscrew assembly. Simulation analysis indicated that
an incremental airplane-nose-up stabilizer deflection
(stabilizer would have likely deflected Leading
Edge[LE] down if it were free to rotate) of 5 units
or more could have produced the observed airplane
motion.
If the stabilizer jackscrew actuator had been displaced downward by the MRAP during takeoff,
continued safe flight and landing most likely would not have been possible. An investigation of the
stabilizer jackscrew occurred on the 15
th of January 2014. Results of the examination were
inconclusive as to whether displacement of the stabilizer jackscrew from its fuselage mount occurred prior to impact.