Incident Summary
On November 27, 2004, at about 0820 Afghanistan time, a Construcciones Aeronauticas Sociedad Anonima C-212-CC (CASA 212) twin-engine turboprop airplane, registration N960BW, collided with mountainous terrain near the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan. The aircraft was registered to Aviation Worldwide Services, LLC, and operated by Presidential Airways, Inc., of Melbourne, Florida. The flight was conducted under a Department of Defense (DoD) contract, operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 with a company flight plan filed. Daylight visual meteorological conditions (VMC) were present at the time of the accident.
Aircraft and Crew
The CASA 212 carried a crew of two U.S. civilian pilots (captain and first officer) and one mechanic-certificated passenger, all employees of the operator. Additionally, three U.S. Army soldiers were on board as military passengers. All six occupants sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft was destroyed in the impact.
Operational Context
The flight departed Bagram Air Base (OAIX) in Bagram, Afghanistan, at about 0738. The investigation determined that the captain chose to fly a nonstandard route and did not maintain sufficient terrain clearance, leading to the inflight collision with mountainous terrain.
Investigation Findings
The official probable cause of the accident was the captain's inappropriate decision to fly a nonstandard route and his failure to maintain adequate terrain clearance. Contributing factors included the operator's failure to require flight crews to file and fly a defined route of flight, and its failure to ensure adherence to company policies and applicable FAA and DoD safety regulations. Additionally, a lack of in-country oversight by both the FAA and the DoD was noted. The investigation also found that the operator's lack of flight-locating procedures and its failure to adequately mitigate limited communications capability at remote sites contributed to the death of one of the passengers.