CNN
The crash of a huge C-130J cargo plane that killed 14 people in Afghanistan in October is being blamed on the misuse of a night-vision goggles case, according to a U.S. Air Force investigation report.

The flight crashed 28 seconds after takeoff from Jalalabad Airport near the Afghan-Pakistani border on October 2 as it was heading to Bagram Airfield.

Initially, the Taliban said Islamist fighters had downed the four-engine plane, but U.S. military officials immediately shed doubt on those claims.

The dead included the pilot, co-pilot, two loadmasters, two security team members and five contractors as passengers. Three Afghan guards on the ground were also killed when the plane hit a guard tower, said the report, which was released Friday.

While the plane was on the ground loading and offloading cargo, the pilot placed the goggles case in front of the cockpit yoke, which is used to steer the plane during flight. The pilot put the case there to prop up part of the plane's tail -- the elevators -- to help the loading team deal with some tall cargo. The goggles case was never removed from the cockpit yoke. During the first seconds of takeoff, the plane's nose started to pitch up too far, so the pilot tried to adjust by moving the yoke forward. But the goggles case blocked the yoke.

Read the U.S. Air Force crash investigation report (PDF): Link

The pilot "misidentified the ensuing flight control problem," the report said, "resulting in improper recovery techniques" by both the pilot and the co-pilot. The plane's nose pitched upward too fast, leading to a stall and a crash, the report said. The aircraft exploded upon impact, it said, and everyone on board died instantly.

"The blocking of the flight controls during loading operations is a non-standard procedure," the report said, "as such, there is no regulatory guidance to prohibit the act, or to address the proper placement and removal of the object blocking the controls."

The report said it was the responsibility of the pilot and co-pilot to remember to remove the goggles case, even though it wasn't on their checklist before takeoff.

The Air Force said the C-130J Hercules cost $48.5 million per aircraft.

The Pentagon identified the airmen killed in the crash as Capt. Jonathan J. Golden, 33, of Camarillo, California; Capt. Jordan B. Pierson, 28, of Abilene, Texas; Staff Sgt. Ryan D. Hammond, 26, of Moundsville, West Virginia; Senior Airman Quinn L. Johnson-Harris, 21, of Milwaukee; Senior Airman Nathan C. Sartain, 29, of Pensacola, Florida; and Airman 1st Class Kcey E. Ruiz, 21, of McDonough, Georgia.

Golden, Pierson, Hammond and Johnson-Harris were assigned to the 39th Airlift Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Sartain and Ruiz were assigned to the 66th Security Forces Squadron, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts.

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So how did they miss the position of the tail on their preflight walk around....

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"The blocking of the flight controls during loading operations is a non-standard procedure," the report said, "as such, there is no regulatory guidance to prohibit the act, or to address the proper placement and removal of the object blocking the controls."

I'm with you OP, do they really need regulatory guidance to tell them to not block their damn flight controls???  Darwin award to the pilot.  Too bad he took others with him.


P.S.  In the fighter world part of the launch sequence is to go "around the horn" with the stick making sure it has full travel in all directions and ensuring the control surfaces respond correctly.  Guess that isn't done in the cargo world.

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So how did they miss the position of the tail on their preflight walk around....

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

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Slight thread drift...didn't we lose an AC-130 years ago when one of the gunners dropped a flare down the barrel of either the howitzer or bofors cannon, the flare got stuck, and he tried to dislodge it by firing another round behind it?



Is this C-130J a new production model?



Or is it like a 1950's or 1960's model that got new engines and curved props?



I am surprised by the $48.5 million price tag.



Years ago, MAC would put a little magazine called the MAC flyer.  I remember ine article was titled "Complacency Kills".

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What Is a jury rig?

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What Is a jury rig?

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What Is a jury rig?

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What Is a jury rig?

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What Is a jury rig?

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I'm a dinosaur, and have been told repeatedly that I served in a different AF.

It wasn't normal, but it occurred on occasion.  And back then, if we could safely get cargo on board and complete the mission, it went.

Crashes suck, regardless of reasons.

I just hope the lessons learned from this one prevent another occurrence.


   

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Damn that's awful.

I thought it was SOP to move the yoke and pedals before flight to check for free movement.

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I've done it.  Need to prop the elevators up to clear a high mast on a forklift. Wedge something in front of the yolk so the loadmasters can get the equipment up to the ramp. We usually use a pelican case for one of our laptops or a cargo strap around the yolk to the seat.  

Before takeoff checklists has a flight controls check. Not sure about air force though.

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On every airplane I've ever flown, "Flight Controls-Free and Correct".  Was part of the pre takeoff check.   It's a standard thing.  You do it, even on planes where you might be using a memory checklist rather than the standard Challenge and Response format.  

If you think about it, it's one of only a handful of items that really matter.    Fuel, Flaps, Flight Controls, Power, Instruments (if you are feeling particularily detail oriented).    

That's only 5 fucking things to remember,

but they will kill you if you forget them.

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i'm calling BS.  The elevator does not hang down low enough to interfere with loading anything that will fit.

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i'm calling BS.  The elevator does not hang down low enough to interfere with loading anything that will fit.