Chartered National Air Cargo plane crashes near Kabul, 8 dead

A CHARTERED National Air Cargo (NAC) plane, owned by Trans Afrique of Ghana, crashed into mountains and burst into flames near the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing all eight aboard, reported Agence France-Presse.

"A C-130 cargo plane operated by National Air Cargo was on its way from Bagram to Kabul," Mohammad Yaqoob Rasouli, the director of Kabul International Airport, told AFP.

The plane had taken off from Bagram, one of the largest US-run military bases in Afghanistan, 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Kabul. Officials said it was carrying freight for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Officials had no word on the cause. "It disappeared from radar six miles from the airport," said Mr Rasouli. "The tower saw a fire in the same location and we also got telephone confirmation from the area of a crash."

"The plane had eight crew members: six Filipinos, one Indian and a Kenyan. "They are all dead," said a spokesman for the aviation ministry after receiving reports from local police at the crash site who said a fire was still burning two hours after the plane went down.

NAC, of Orchard Park, New York, near Buffalo, has long flown military cargo for the US Air Force. It was recently been convicted of over-billing and had right to bid on US government work rescinded for a time.

But in a plea bargain, the NAC continued its relationship with the US military while paying the $28 million fine and pleading guilty to a corporate felony for over billing the military.

NATO said its troops and Afghan security forces were conducting a search and rescue mission for the plane. A spokesman told AFP that ISAF had scrambled helicopters to the scene.
(Source:www.schednet.com)