Fatal L-100 Hercules cargo plane crash in Afghanistan

by B. N. Sullivan

An L-100 Hercules cargo aircraft has crashed in the mountains of Afghanistan near Kabul, killing all on board. The aircraft, owned by Transafrik International and operating as a charter for National Air Cargo as Flight MUA-662, was en route from Bagram Air Base (BPM) to Kabul (KBL) at the time of the accident.  The accident occurred on October 12, 2010 at about 19:30 local time.

News reports about the accident vary as to whether there were seven, eight or nine people on board.  In any case, all on board are reported to have perished in the accident.

Few details are available, but Afghan news website Pajhwok.com quoted an eyewitness who said the plane "burst into flames after crashing into mountains in the Mahipar pass."  The Mahipar pass is situated along the highway between Kabul and Jalalabad.

An AFP article about the accident quoted a police official from the area near the accident site who said the fire was still burning two hours after the crash.

The Lockheed L-100 is the civilian equivalent of the military C-130.