Azerbaijan , Baku, July 8 / Trend V.Zhavoronkova /
The United States did everything possible through the Foreign Ministry, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, and its own contacts to ensure that Silk Way Airlines and the Azerbaijani side had access to the site of the plane crash, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza told journalists today.
Nine crew members were on board a cargo aircraft IL-76 4K-AZ 55 of the Azerbaijani cargo airline Silk Way, which crashed at 2:10 a.m. [Baku time] on Tuesday in the Afghan province of Parwan, north of Kabul.
A total of 18 tons of cargo was on board the plane en route from Baku to Bagram. The plane picked up its cargo at the Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport and took off at 21:26 (local time).
A cargo aircraft of "Azerbaijan Airlines" was not a NATO plane, but was contracted by the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF), ISAF Spokesperson Mayor Tim James told Trend.
"We express our deep condolences on the death of nine crew members," Bryza said. "We have very close relations with the Azerbaijani government and the company Silk Way."
He said Silk Way Company is a good partner of the U.S. and NATO in ensuring reliable, efficient deliveries to the coalition forces.
He expressed the hope that the Commission will reach the crash site today.
Representatives of a special commission to investigate the causes of the Azerbaijani plane crash in Afghanistan arrived and are prepared to visit the site of the alleged crash.
The commission's work is supported by the international coalition forces in Afghanistan (ISAF) and the State Administration of Afghanistan.
The commission includes the representatives of the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation and Silk Way specialists.