Civilian Cargo Plane Crashes in Mountains East of Kabul

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Source: NYT

KABUL, Afghanistan — A civilian cargo plane trying to land at Kabul’s international airport crashed into the nearby mountains Tuesday night, and Afghan and NATO officials said they feared that there were no survivors among the eight people aboard.

NATO helicopters and members of the Afghan National Security Forces were searching for the wreckage, according to a NATO statement. The cause of the crash was unclear.

The plane was a civilian version of the C-130 transport aircraft used by the military for cargo, the NATO statement said.

Gen. Zahir Azimi, the Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, said the plane went down near Pul-i-Charkhi, east of Kabul. The city lies in the middle of a circle of mountains, and when planes reduce altitude as they are coming in for a landing they run the risk of crashing into the surrounding peaks. The mountainous area east of Kabul was where a Kam Air plane crashed in February 2005, leaving 104 people dead.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/world/asia/13afghan.html