5 US Service Members Among 12 Dead in Afghan Plane Crash
Associated Press | Oct 01, 2015 | by Lolita C. Baldor
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. defense official says 12 people, including five U.S. service members, are dead after the crash of a military C-130 transport plane in Afghanistan.
The official says the plane crashed at Jalalabad Airport in eastern Afghanistan at about midnight local time.
There are about 1,000 coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan, including U.S. and Polish forces as well as about 40,000 Afghan troops, according to NATO.
The U.S. official was not authorized to discuss the incident publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. has about 9,800 troops in Afghanistan, although the numbers are expected to go down a bit by the end of the year.
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11 dead in US C-130 plane crash in Afghanistan
A C-130 military transport plane crashed in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)
Washington (AFP) - Eleven people, including six US troops, were killed when a C-130 military transport plane crashed Friday in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, an official said.
"The crew and passengers were killed," US Army Colonel Brian Tribus said, noting that five civilian contractors were also on the plane.
The crash occurred at about midnight local time on Friday morning (1930 GMT).
The contractors had been working for "Resolute Support," the NATO-led training mission.
The C-130 Hercules is a cargo plane built by Lockheed Martin. It is powered by four turboprop engines and is used extensively by the military to ship troops and heavy gear.
The C-130 can take off and land on rough, dirt strips and is widely used by the US military in hostile areas. Jalalabad is in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan
| Date: | 02-OCT-2015 |
| Time: | 00:19 |
| Type: | Lockheed C-130J Hercules |
| Owner/operator: | US Air Force - USAF |
| Registration: | |
| C/n / msn: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Jalalabad Airfield -
 Afghanistan
|
| Phase: | |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
Six U.S. service members and five civilians were killed when a C-130J crashed shortly after midnight Friday local time at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan, according to ta 455th Air Expeditionary Wing news release.
The plane was assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, the news release says. First responders are still on the scene and the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Sources:
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=180071 http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/10/01/c-130-crashes-afghanistan/73173916/