Afghan refugee in Oregon training flight crash that killed 3 ignored instructor's advice, NTSB says

PORTLAND, Ore. — A former Afghan Air Force pilot training for a commercial license in Oregon ignored his flight instructor's advice not to return to a small airport because of poor visibility. The plane later crashed, killing the pilot and the other two passengers on board, according to a preliminary federal report of the accident released Friday.

All three men killed in the Dec. 16 accident were former Afghan pilots who had fought with the U.S. military. Local nonprofit Salem for Refugees said they resettled the men in the Salem area last spring.

The pilot, Mohammad Hussain Musawi, 35, and the two passengers, Mohammad Bashir Safdari, 35, and Ali Jan Ferdawsi, 29, were killed in the crash near Independence, a small city in the Willamette Valley about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest of Salem.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board report, an examination of the airframe and engine of the Cessna 172G aircraft revealed no mechanical defects or malfunctions.

The plane's owner allowed the pilot to use the Cessna to obtain his private pilot certificate and to obtain his instrument rating and commercial pilot certificate, the report said.

Musawi told his flight instructor that he and a passenger with pilot status would fly from Independence to McMinnville Airport to practice instrument approaches, the report said. The two small towns are about 30 miles apart by road.

Two approaches were made to McMinnville before the aircraft landed. The flight instructor, who was monitoring the flight electronically, called Musawi and advised him not to return to Independence due to poor visibility of about 500 feet due to fog, the report said.

Musawi told the instructor he would fly to Independence, assess the situation and attempt to land, divert to Salem or return to McMinnville, the report said. He also said he picked up a second passenger with pilot status in McMinnville.

Air traffic control recordings show the pilot made two position reports on the approach, which included his intention to land in Independence, the report said. He also electronically activated the pilot-controlled landing lights to medium intensity.

The pilot overshot the runway to the east, corrected and overshot it to the west and landed upside down on the edge of an open field next to the airport grounds, the report said.

A fire consumed the fuselage, but the wings did not catch fire, the report said. The engine had separated from the plane and was found about 60 feet northwest of the main wreckage, the report said.

The plane likely first struck an 80-foot utility pole about 60 feet southeast of the wreckage.

The pole consisted of three pieces. The top 4 feet (1.22 meters) of the pole shattered and lay scattered in the wreckage. The center section, about 3.66 meters long, fell onto the right wing, leaving about 21 meters from the original post.

The report noted that the pole had a red double-bulb warning light at the top, and this was also found in the wreckage. At least one electrical cable was found among the wreckage.

Preliminary reports from the NTSB do not identify causes for aircraft crashes, but more information can usually be found in final reports released months later.

More than 1,400 Afghans have settled in Oregon as refugees since 2021, according to the state Department of Human Services.

The pilots' families have remained in Afghanistan while awaiting their arrival in the U.S., according to the Afghan American Development Group, a nonprofit that helps about 600 former Afghan military aviation personnel with refugee resettlement, job training and family reunification.

The group has created a GoFundMe page to help support the pilots' families and cover funeral costs. The men had not seen their families since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power after capturing the Afghan capital Kabul.

As the Taliban closed in on Kabul, the pilots were among those who flew their planes under fire into neighboring Tajikistan to prevent air force equipment from falling into the hands of the group's fighters, said Russ Pritchard, CEO of the nonprofit group.