The plane was assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, the news release says.
Advertisement
Overall, six USA service members and five civilians died in the crash, and the deceased from the 317th AG included an aircrew of two C-130J pilots and two loadmasters.
The four other men who died were deployed from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
“We know we have fatalities on the ground, however I can not confirm the amount or disposition of them… who they are or in what capacity they served at Jalalabad Airfield”, said Maj.
“This is a devastating day for our Air Force and for Hanscom Air Force Base”, said Col. Michael Vogel, Hanscom base commander.
There are about 1,000 coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan, including US and Polish forces, as well as about 40,000 Afghan troops, according to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Gen. Dave Julazadeh, commander of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram, also said that there were no signs that the enemy brought down the C130.
The airport at Jalalabad, located about 100 miles east of Kabul, is used only for military and United Nations flights. Members of the 66th SFS routinely deploy to assist with security operations around the globe. Five civilian passengers in the plane were killed, along with an unknown number of people on the ground, The Associated Press reported.
“My thoughts and prayers are with their families during this hard time”.
U.S. Airman Ryan Hammond, a 2007 graduate of John Marshall High School, was among the 11 people who died in the crash of the U.S. Air Force C-130 transport plane in Afghanistan on Thursday night. Afghan officials had no immediate details on the crash or any casualty figures. We’ve had a good partnership with the local tribes.
Advertisement
No further information on the crash is now available.
