Cargo plane crashes at Afghan air base

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A civilian cargo plane crashed at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on Monday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force. There was no immediate word on casualties or the cause of the crash.

Zamaray Khan, the local district police chief, said only that the plane crashed on takeoff on an airport runway. Bagram is about an hour’s drive north of the capital, Kabul, and is one of the two largest air bases serving coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Coalition forces rely heavily on contracted aircraft to haul troops and supplies in a nation where roadside bombs and insurgent attacks make traveling by road dangerous. The name of the plane’s contracting company was not immediately available.

It was the second crash in three days involving coalition aircraft in Afghanistan. On Saturday, four U.S. airmen were killed when a military turboprop plane crashed in southern Afghanistan.

The Defense Department identified the four service members as Capt. Reid K. Nishizuka, 30, of Kailua, Hawaii; Staff Sgt. Richard A. Dickson, 24, of Rancho Cordova, Calif., Capt. Brandon L. Cyr, 28, of Woodbridge, Va.; and Staff Sgt. Daniel N. Fannin, 30 of Morehead, Ky.

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