The National Transportation Safety Board (
NTSB) released their first
public factual report for the ongoing investigation into the April
29, 2013 crash of a National Airlines Boeing 747 at Bagram Air Base,
Afghanistan. The cargo flight crashed on takeoff on its way from
Bagram to Dubai. All seven crew members were fatally injured and the
airplane was destroyed.
The NTSB is specifically prohibited from assigning blame or
apportioning liability for the accident under international treaty.
However,
Nolan Law Group, acting as attorneys for families of five
crew members believes the newly released information strongly
supports the claims that the fault for the accident rests with the
aircraft manufacturer,
Boeing, and with AAR Corp. and its
subsidiaries who designed and manufactured the cargo handling system
installed on the airplane.
According to information from the
families' attorneys, the accident airplane was originally designed
and manufactured by Boeing for use as a passenger airplane.
Thereafter in 2007 and pursuant to an agreement between the operating
airline and Boeing, the airplane was converted to a freighter which
included installation of the aftermarket cargo handling system
designed and manufactured by AAR's Telair subsidiaries.
At the
time of the crash, National Airlines was transporting five Mine
Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles aboard the airplane. Nolan
Law Group notes that prior to the crash another airline questioned
the safety of such a transport, conducted an engineering safety
study, and concluded that it was, in fact, unsafe and dangerous to
transport five such vehicles. The firm further notes that airline
also recommended limiting the transport to three MRAP vehicles, but
when Boeing was consulted, it advised it had no objection to such a
transport. It appears that Boeing did not share these safety concerns
with other airlines, including National Airlines.
“The
factual information released by the NTSB today suggests that the
rear-most MRAP vehicle broke free from its restraints and penetrated
through the rear pressure bulkhead of the airplane,” Nolan Law
Group said in a press statement Tuesday. “There, due to Boeing's
vulnerable design of the plane's hydraulic system, the MRAP tore
through hydraulic lines powering the airplane's control surfaces and
landing gear which took away the crew's ability to control the
airplane. These events resulted in an excessive nose-up pitch and
unrecoverable stall, the haunting dashboard video of which went viral
on the internet and has been repeatedly aired by media outlets.”
The
NTSB is expected to issue its final report and probable cause
determination related to the crash later this year.
