National Air Cargo

[dojetdriver]

MRAP's weigh 17.3 metric tons each.

Depends on make/model, does it not?

Like I said, doesn't matter. It's a sh1t ton, or a METRIC sh1t ton of weight shift.

 

[belchfire]

Rest in Peace, Gentlemen.

My thoughts and prayers for the families...

 

[uba757]

RIP! From my family to all of you who have been affected by this tragedy!!!!!!

 

[Snaab]

That was a difficult, chilling video to watch. My thoughts and wishes go out to friends/family/coworkers affected by the crash.

 

[100-1/2]

I have known Tim for almost 2 decades, celebrated his girls' births and grieved with him the toll this industry took on his marriage. Good man. Hate they will try to hang this around his neck. Interesting the DC8 misloading in Sacramento few years back by minimum wage baggage handlers, drug dealers and drunks led to a host of new regs and now at least one being his death sentence as required crew on this flight.

First round of frothy pints in the hereafter are on me, Timmy.

Any 747 guys care to speculate why the gear was down?

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941

 

[Nightmare67]

Any 747 guys care to speculate why the gear was down?
[/I]

Four hands pushing whith all their might on two yokes.

RIP guys...

 

[Usedtobe]

100-1/2,
I have quite a bit of time in the airplane and I don't believe the gear was ever retracted. After looking at the video frame by frame (and I am no expert) it looks like the aircraft when almost straight as soon as it lifted off. High airport elevation, heavy aircraft, full power I would imagine, aircraft pitches up excessively for what ever reason. He cant get the nose down due to the high power input (no choice there) and the addition of what caused the pitch to begin with (probably a load shift). The aircraft looks like it stalled to the right, recovered as best as possible,but just not enough altitude. I was truly amazed they got the wings back to anywhere near level.

Just another guys thoughts, but as i said, no expert here.

Rest in peace.

 

[Usedtobe]

Sorry to the readers, I meant to say it "looks like the aircraft went straight up as soon as it lifted off".

I apologize for my poor typing.

 

[Redmeat]

National's most recent press release stated that the aircraft was just there to refuel. "no additional freight or people were loaded on the aircraft in Bagram"

If that's the case the cargo obviously was properly loaded (at least CG - wise) in Camp Bastian.

It looks like a securement issue that somehow made it thru the first rotation out of Camp Bastian and failed upon rotation coming out of Bagram.

The video instantly reminded me of a training video the Navy put out some 25-30 years ago of C2 Greyhounds (the Navy's main supply/transport ac for the carrier) having load shifts during cat-shots, all filmed by the deck cam. Straight into the vertical and hanging what seemed forever on the props before doing a wing-over into the ocean. Chilling.

In todays wiz-bang world of technologically advanced ac it gets very easy to forget how little room for error there truly is.

RIP fallen brothers...

 

[unwashed]

100-1/2,
I have quite a bit of time in the airplane and I don't believe the gear was ever retracted. After looking at the video frame by frame (and I am no expert) it looks like the aircraft when almost straight as soon as it lifted off. High airport elevation, heavy aircraft, full power I would imagine, aircraft pitches up excessively for what ever reason. He cant get the nose down due to the high power input (no choice there) and the addition of what caused the pitch to begin with (probably a load shift). The aircraft looks like it stalled to the right, recovered as best as possible,but just not enough altitude. I was truly amazed they got the wings back to anywhere near level.

Just another guys thoughts, but as i said, no expert here.

Rest in peace.

A lack of hydraulics to retract them due to the aft pressure bulkhead being compromised along with the hydraulic lines just behind it?