Casa 212-200-CC accident near Bamiyan, Af, November 27, 2004
On November 27, 2004 at about 3:50 am local time, a Casa 212-200-CC, registered N960BW, was destroyed in an accident near Bamiyan. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 6 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the captain's inappropriate decision to fly a nonstandard route and his failure to maintain adequate terrain clearance, which resulted in the inflight collision with mountainous terrain. Factors were the operator's failure to require its flight crews to file and to fly a defined route of flight, the operator's failure to ensure that the flight crews adhered to company policies and FAA and DoD Federal safety regulations, and the lack of in-country oversight by the FAA and the DoD of the operator. Contributing to the death of one of the passengers was the operator's lack of flight-locating procedures and its failure to adequately mitigate the limited communications capability at remote sites. The Board's full report is available on: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/AAB0607.pdf
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 27, 2004 · about 3:50 am local time
- Place
- Bamiyan, Afghanistan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Casa 212-200-CC
- Registration
- N960BW · no longer on the register · serial 231
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board has adopted the final report of this accident investigation, including the analysis and probable cause. The Board's full report is available on: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2006/AAB0607.pdf On November 27, 2004, about 0820 Afghanistan time, a Construcciones Aeronauticas Sociedad Anonima C-212-CC (CASA 212) twin-engine, turboprop airplane, N960BW, registered to Aviation Worldwide Services, LLC, and operated by Presidential Airways, Inc., of Melbourne, Florida, collided with mountainous terrain in the vicinity of the Bamiyan Valley, near Bamiyan, Afghanistan. The Department of Defense (DoD) contract flight was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135, with a company flight plan filed. Daylight visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed. The captain, the first officer, and the mechanic-certificated passenger, who were U.S. civilians employed by the operator, and the three military passengers, who were active-duty U.S. Army soldiers, received fatal injuries. The airplane was destroyed. The flight departed Bagram Air Base (OAIX), Bagram, Afghanistan, about 0738.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,720 hours in all; 685 in this make and model; 88 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 4,930 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,228 hours in all; 67 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: October 13, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 21,489.6 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 1, 2004; 4.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,976 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: Garrett TPE-331-10R (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Garrett TPE-331-10R (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OAIX Bagram at 3:08 am
- Destination: NONE Farah
- Flight plan: VFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 5.0 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.37 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 am from OAIX, 81 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.