Crash of cargo aircraft in Afghanistan kills seven

KABUL, Afghanistan—A civilian cargo aircraft crashed at Bagram Air Field, north of the Afghan capital, soon after takeoff on Monday, killing all seven people aboard, the US-led military coalition said.

The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the crash, but the coalition said in a statement to The Associated Press: “Taliban’s claims are false.”

It said the cause of the crash was being investigated by emergency crews that rushed to the site, but there was no sign of insurgent activity in the area at the time.

Captain Luca Carniel, a coalition spokesman, said the aircraft crashed from a low altitude right after takeoff.

The plane belonged to Orlando, Florida-based National Air Cargo. The company has a notice on its website, stating “National Airlines aircraft N949CA, flight NCR102 has been involved in an accident departing Bagram, Afghanistan on April 29, 2013” and has offered a toll-free phone number for victims’ families to use to obtain information and support.

The Aviation Herald has posted what is said to be a photo of the crash site along with details about the plane which it reports to be a 747-400.