2020 United States Air Force E-11A crash
430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron, USAF Northrop Grumman E-11A (Bombardier Global Express) · One engine loss caused by a broken turbine blade; pilot error in subsequent shut-down of the remaining engine
From Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport (KDH) to Kandahar International Airport
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 2 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 2
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Northrop Grumman E-11A (Bombardier Global Express)
- Aircraft type
- Northrop Grumman E-11
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 11-9358
- Onboard fatalities
- 2
- Route
- From Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport (KDH)To Kandahar International Airport
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant
- Personnel issues › Psychological
- Personnel issues › Task performance
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Not plotted · Not plotted: the Wikipedia article gives no coordinates, and its site names no town or airport that matches exactly.
From the Wikipedia article
On 27 January 2020, a United States Air Force Bombardier Global Express E-11A aircraft crashed in Afghanistan's Dih Yak District, Ghazni Province. Both crew members on board were killed, according to U.S. military sources. With the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August 2021, this was the last acknowledged U.S. fatal aviation incident of the War in Afghanistan.
Accident
The aircraft crashed at 13:10 local time (08:40 UTC) in the Dih Yak District. Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. The crash site was 130 km southwest of Kabul, and near the village of Sado Khelo. Voice of America stated that all five people on board were killed. The U.S. Department of Defense only confirmed two fatalities recovered at the crash site.
It was originally reported to be an aircraft of Ariana Afghan Airlines, but the airline later ruled out this possibility, saying all its flights had been accounted for. A spokesperson for the United States military confirmed the identity of the aircraft involved in the incident, which occurred in an area controlled by the Taliban. A Taliban spokesperson said to Al-Arabiyah that Taliban militias shot down the aircraft killing everyone on board, including high-ranking officials. However, these reports remain unconfirmed. Reports circulated by state-affiliated media of both Iran and Russia suggested that the Central Intelligence Agency's chief of Iran operations, Michael D'Andrea, was killed in the crash. These reports are also unconfirmed, and the CIA neither confirmed nor denied the presence of its officers aboard the crashed plane.
On 29 January 2020, Pentagon sources identified the airmen killed in the crash as Lieutenant Colonel Paul K. Voss of Yigo, Guam and Captain Ryan S. Phaneuf of Hudson, New Hampshire. Voss was 46 years old and had served in the Air Force for 25 years; Phaneuf was 30 years old and had served for eight years.
Investigation and cause
Investigation and findings
American military authorities opened an investigation into the incident. The aircraft's flight data recorder was recovered.
The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by a broken turbine blade on the left engine compounded by pilot error. The crew misidentified which engine had failed. As a result, the pilots mistakenly shut off power to the right engine, believing the left engine was still intact. The failure to restart the correct engine in the air, and their attempt to return to Kandahar Air Base, substantially contributed to the mishap. With no working engines, the aircraft lacked the necessary altitude and airspeed to glide to the nearest base, forcing them to make an emergency landing on the snowy terrain, which proved too rugged to land safely.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2020 United States Air Force E-11A crash” (revision 1333610467, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2020 United States Air Force E-11A crash
- Revision
- 1333610467 · 2026-01-18 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q83795110
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2020 United States Air Force E-11A crash" (page 62945419, revision 1333610467)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- none
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.