What happened
Following an initial flight from Bahrain that concluded with offloading at Kabul Airport, a four-engine aircraft departed for a brief mission to Bagram Air Force Base. The cargo consisted of telecommunications equipment intended for the United States military.
Shortly after departing Kabul, the crew transitioned frequencies to communicate with Bagram Airbase. Due to existing air traffic congestion at the destination, air traffic controllers directed the flight to maintain an altitude of 10,000 feet while holding approximately 10 nautical miles south of the base.
As the aircraft began its descent, it encountered hazy conditions. During this phase, the plane collided with a mountain slope in the vicinity of Kōh-e Khāk-e Shahīdān, situated roughly 28.6 km northwest of Kabul. The impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate. All eight people on board were killed in the accident. Search teams located the wreckage at an elevation of 2,120 meters.
Findings
At the time of the collision, visibility was reported to be approximately 5 km, characterized by haze and a cloud ceiling of 1,200 feet. The investigation determined that the accident was caused by controlled flight into terrain.