Afghanistan plane crash kills 11, including 6 American service members

Reporting from Washington —  A C-130 cargo plane crashed early Friday at Jalalabad Airfield in Afghanistan, killing all 11 on board, the U.S. Air Force said.

Six U.S. service members and five civilian passengers died in the crash, which occurred at 12:19 a.m., officials said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, the Air Force said in a statement.

The C-130 belonged to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, which is assigned to the Bagram air base in Afghanistan.

The C-130 Hercules, first built by Lockheed Martin Corp. in 1954, is a stubby four-engine turbo-prop aircraft used to deliver troops, equipment, and supplies to short runways in harsh environments around the world. The plane has been in continuous production longer than any other military aircraft.

There are multiple variations of the plane. The version that the Air Force said crashed Friday, the C-130J Super Hercules, costs about $70 million and is the newest model of the aircraft manufactured in Lockheed’s Marietta, Ga., plant.

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