Tagged: Afghanistan

Update 11:06 a.m.

The Associated Press reports the National Transportation Safety Board and the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority are investigating the crash:

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the crash, but the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement to The Associated Press: "Taliban's claims are false."

It said there was no sign of insurgent activity in the area at the time. Capt. Luca Carniel, a coalition spokesman, said the aircraft crashed from a low altitude right after takeoff.

Here's the site of the crash:

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Monday, April 29th, 11:16 p.m.

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - An official of a Florida-based air cargo company says five of seven people killed in the crash of a civilian plane at an airfield in Afghanistan were from Michigan.

The plane crashed just after taking off Monday from Bagram Air Field, north of the Afghan capital.

The U.S.-led military coalition says it's investigating what caused the crash.

An official of Orlando, Fla.-based National Airlines says its Boeing 747-400 was carrying vehicles and other cargo.

Company Vice President Shirley Kaufman tells the Detroit Free Press that those killed were four pilots, two mechanics and a load master.

Kaufman didn't release the victims' names but says their families have been notified.

National Airlines was based until recently at Michigan's Willow Run Airport, west of Detroit in Wayne County's Van Buren Township.

FLINT, Mich. (AP) - U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee has returned from a trip to Afghanistan, the freshman's first official overseas travel as a member of Congress.

The Flint Township Democrat says the country is headed in the right direction with its own forces stepping up to provide security.

Kildee traveled to Afghanistan as part of a three-member delegation. He got back on Saturday.

Khalid Hanifi is a singer-songwriter who brings an unusual perspective to the songs and lyrics that he writes.

He's based in Ann Arbor, but as the son of an Afghan man who came from Kabul to the United States in 1956, Khalid has a foot in both worlds, and that informs his writing, from songs to his blog on the Huffington Post.
 
His latest CD is "A Brief Respite From Shooting Fish In A Barrel."

To hear the full interview, listen to the link above.

Zachary Shanafelt was a field medic in the Army. He was injured in Afghanistan last year. He died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday.

More from John Tunison of MLive:

Shanafelt was an field medic with A Battery, 1-84 Field Artillery, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Army Sgt. First Class Jeffrey Arnold, a casualty assistance officer, said Shanafelt was injured in 2011 and, since that time, has been at hospitals in both the United States and Germany.

Visitation is 7-9 p.m. Thursday at Pederson Funeral Home in Rockford and the funeral is 11 a.m. Friday, with full military honors.

Arnold did not immediately have details of Shanafelt's injuries.

Shanafelt's death raises the number of Michigan soldiers killed from injuries while in Afghanistan to 65.