Seen on the street in Kyiv.

Words of Advice:

"If Something Seems To Be Too Good To Be True, It's Best To Shoot It, Just In Case." -- Fiona Glenanne

“The Mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?” -- The TOFF *

"Foreign Relations Boil Down to Two Things: Talking With People or Killing Them." -- Unknown

“Speed is a poor substitute for accuracy.” -- Real, no-shit, fortune from a fortune cookie

"Thou Shalt Get Sidetracked by Bullshit, Every Goddamned Time." -- The Ghoul

"If you believe that you are talking to G-d, you can justify anything.” — my Dad

"Colt .45s; putting bad guys in the ground since 1873." -- Unknown

"Stay Strapped or Get Clapped." -- probably not Mr. Rogers

"The Dildo of Karma rarely comes lubed." -- Unknown

"Eck!" -- George the Cat

* "TOFF" = Treasonous Orange Fat Fuck,
"FOFF" = Felonious Old Fat Fuck,
"COFF" = Convicted Old Felonious Fool,
A/K/A Commandante (or Cadet) Bone Spurs,
A/K/A El Caudillo de Mar-a-Lago, A/K/A the Asset,
A/K/A P01135809, A/K/A Dementia Donnie, A/K/A Felon^34,
A/K/A Dolt-45, A/K/A Don Snoreleone

Monday, April 29, 2013

What the Press Doesn't Know About the Bagram Crash

The published reports are sketchy. Either they say nothing much at all or they misidentify the airplane as a Herk.

The word in aviation circles is that the airplane was a 747-400 with eight SOBs. The crew radioed that the cargo had shifted aft. The airplane then went very nose-high, stalled and crashed.

UPDATE:  Video of the crash from a dashboard cam.

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Some more info here:
http://avherald.com/h?article=46183bb4&opt=0

BadTux said...

If a load shift, either the loadmaster did not do his job or the load strapping equipment was in such disrepair that something broke. When a 20 ton military vehicle shifts, that's end game. The Taliban claiming credit doesn't surprise me, they might as well, since the reason that jet was taking off in such a hurry at full power and high angle was to avoid possible Taliban MANPAD's. At a more leisurely civilian pace intended to conserve fuel and avoid noise complaints rather than avoid being shot down it's less likely that the load would have shifted. My money is on disrepair, these contractors are notorious for cutting corners, though you'd think that with a multi-million dollar aircraft they wouldn't because it isn't in their best interests. I guess the magic Free Market Fairy that automatically makes everything safe if it's Free Market wasn't sprinkling magic Free Market fairy dust around or somethin', funny how people don't always act in their own best interests (talkin' ta you, Kansas!), isn't it?

Either way we'll never know, because it will be investigated by the military and the results classified as a military secret (especially if it turns out they were ordered to take off by the military before the load was fully secured).

Anonymous said...

dashcam video here. God, my heart was in my throat watching them lose it. Piper Cub or 747, physics are ineluctable.
http://www.nycaviation.com/2013/04/national-air-cargo-747-crash-at-bagram-afghanistan/#.UYAO3Hd9B8D