National 747 crash

I know this isnt a Haz Mat related topic, but it is close to my heart. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikehayes/terrifying-video-of-a-plane-crash-in-afghanistan

Load Mastering a 747 is something that I used to do and let me tell you, yo have GOT to be good to get it right in those remote locations.  I know, Ive done it.

What a lot of people dont know is that the system is really complicated.  The civil carriers are forced to comply with the military's system and the two programs don't match up very well.   Particularly if those freighters and their load planning programs are not configured to handle the military's 463L pallets. 

Getting the data from the military and transcribing it to a commercial system is the first complication.  It can make the load planning very difficult and often the Loadmaster is planning the load just prior to loading on a laptop in the aircraft.  I was lucky, I had a system where a central load planning worked it out for me in advance, but making changes was really a pain.  All too often the actual load that showed up and  the plan didnt always match.  It always presented a challenge.  The risk if you did an SMS risk matrix would be pretty high. 

Loading is another issue, you usually have a crew of young and inexperienced air men or USAF contractors who lack supervision by an NCO or supervisor.  As the loadmaster, you had to stay on top of them all the time and could never trust them to get things they way you needed it to happen.  Laziness could be the difference between a good load and the result in the video.  I watched those guys like a hawk and triple checked everything they did.  

Lets not talk about floor configurations!  if you were not configured to handle 463Ls, there was, shall we say ... difficulties. You need to have top notch load masters to ensure the floors were properly configured, weight limits were within parameters based on available floor locks and the pallets were secure.  skimping on safety here could have bad results. 


DGs .... the military and civilian systems could not be more disparate. 

Finally getting the numbers to the crew, again a challenge.  You need to double and triple check everything.  You are generally rushing to get out on time so as not to miss a curfew or because the AF needs the ramp space for other incoming acft.

I feel horrible for these guys and their families.  I am close to this issue and it really hurts my heart to see this video.  It could have been me in 2008-09.  My prayers go out to them.

I just hope that a lesson is learned here and the disparity between the military and civilian systems for these kinds of ops could close.