The take off weight had been calculated as tons with the C of G towards the rear of the allowable flight envelope. The MTOW was tons. The accident flight was one of a series being operated under a multimodal contract with the US Transportation Command. The five MRAPS, which made up almost two thirds of the weight of the total cargo carried constituted 'Special Cargo', because they were not contained in a ULD compatible with the aircraft cargo loading system or enclosed in a cargo compartment certified for bulk loading.
Debris from the aircraft remote from the impact site was found on the runway near to taxiway C, including small pieces of fuselage skin, a section of hydraulic return tubing, a piece of the rack on which the CVR and FDR are mounted and part of an antenna from one of the M-ATVs. Other pieces of debris were found near the runway between this point and the crash site. The augmented flight crew two Captains and two First Officers had flown the accident aircraft from Chateauroux, France to Camp Bastion where all the cargo, including the five M-RAPs, had been loaded before the aircraft continued to Bagram for refuelling but no change in the load prior to departure to Dubai.
The aircraft was fitted with crew rest facilities used by the operating crew when the augmenting crew members were providing cruise relief. Two mechanics and a loadmaster were also on board. Crew members who had flown on the aircraft to Bagram had noted that the cargo -- which included five mine-resistant ambush-protected MRAP vehicles, weighing some 80 tons in all -- had shifted during a previous flight and that a strap had broken but they "did not recognize that this indicated a serious problem," the staff said.
NTSB investigators found that National Airlines, the parent company of National Air Cargo, had inadequate procedures in place for restraining special cargo loads such as the one it was moving in the flight that crashed and criticized its training of crew members. It also found that federal regulators failed to provide proper oversight of the carrier.
Mark Dombroff, a lawyer representing National Airlines, the parent company for National Air Cargo, said the carrier was "disappointed" in the outcome and believed additional investigation should have been performed to determine if an explosive device was involved.
Investigators said there was no evidence explosives played a role in the crash. As in any crash, the flight recorders are expected to be invaluable. In the meantime, an unauthorized video possibly taken by a dashboard camera has gone viral after its posting on the LiveLeaks website.
The video shows no evidence of Taliban fire, although the Associated Press and others have reported a Taliban claim of responsibility. Contractors working in Afghanistan are always concerned about insider attacks by rogue Afghans, but there is no evidence of that so far. Schiavo oversaw FAA responses to air crashes as inspector general at the Transportation Department in the s. She said three things can cause a stall like the one seen on the video: first, a loss of engine power; second, runaway trim in which the small stabilizer tabs on a 's tail elevators are incorrectly set upward, either because of a malfunction or human error; third, cargo sliding to the back of the plane on takeoff, upsetting its weight balance.
The captain was made aware of a broken strap while the plane was still on the ramp in Bagram. NTSB officials say National Airlines had never attempted to transport an ton vehicle before the flight.
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