B747-400 Crash in Afghanistan

A National Airlines B747-400 cargo plane was involved in an accident at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan today.

At approximately 7 a.m. EDT, National Flight NCR 102 from Bagram to Dubai, UAE, with seven crewmembers on board crashed on takeoff.  None of the crew members survived.   This was a purely cargo flight and no passengers were aboard.  Cargo consisted of vehicles and routine general cargo.

“Safety is always our top priority at National Airlines,” said National Airlines President Glen Joerger . “This is a devastating loss for our family and we’ll work diligently with authorities to find the cause,” said Joerger. “Most importantly, our thoughts and prayers are with our crewmembers and their families.”

National will release additional information as it becomes available, in cooperation with government authorities.  Our focus at this time is on the family members of those we’ve lost, and on assisting the NTSB and Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority in their investigations.  As of now, the cause of the accident is unknown.