What happened
During the early hours of 2 October 2015, an aircraft crashed shortly after departing runway 31 at Jalalabad Airfield. The flight was performing the second leg of a scheduled contingency airlift operation. The aircraft was operated by the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, under the assignment of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing based at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
As the aircraft ascended, it struck a guard tower that was being occupied by three members of the Afghan Special Reaction Force. The impact caused the destruction of the aircraft and its cargo, and also damaged a nearby perimeter wall. The collision with the tower resulted in the deaths of the three personnel stationed there.
Findings
There were 11 fatalities among the crew and passengers on board the aircraft, all of whom died immediately upon impact. The onboard personnel included the pilot, the copilot, two loadmasters, two members of a fly-away security team, and five contractors traveling as passengers. The impact with a manned guard tower was the primary event leading to the loss of life and the destruction of the airframe.