Accident Overview
On 27 January 2020, at approximately 1309 hours local time, an E-11A aircraft, tail number 11-9358, was destroyed after touching down in a field in Ghanzi Province, Afghanistan. The mishap crew, consisting of two pilots, were deployed from the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron at Kandahar Airfield. Both pilots were fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed.
Mission Details
The mission was a combined Mission Qualification Training – 3 sortie for the second pilot and a combat sortie for the crew, flown in support of Operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL. The aircraft departed Kandahar Airfield at 1105 local time. The flight proceeded without incident until approximately one hour and 45 minutes into the flight, at 1250:52 local time, when the left engine catastrophically failed. The failure involved a fan blade breaking free, causing the left engine to shut down.
Crew Actions and Outcome
Following the left engine failure, the mishap crew incorrectly assessed that the operable right engine had failed. Consequently, they initiated a shutdown of the right engine, resulting in a dual engine out emergency. The crew then attempted to return to Kandahar Airfield, approximately 230 nautical miles away. However, they were unable to restart either engine to produce usable thrust. The aircraft lacked the altitude and airspeed to glide the remaining distance to Kandahar. The crew redirected toward Forward Operating Base Sharana but still could not reach it. They attempted a landing in a field approximately 21 nautical miles short of Sharana, where the aircraft was destroyed.
Investigation Findings
The Accident Investigation Board President determined, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the cause of the mishap was the crew's error in analyzing which engine had catastrophically failed—the left engine. This error led to the decision to shut down the operable right engine, creating a dual engine out emergency. Additionally, the Board President found that the crew's failure to airstart the right engine and their decision to recover the aircraft to Kandahar Airfield substantially contributed to the mishap.