Officials release Albania accident report

  • Published
An accident investigation board found that a loss of situational awareness by the flight deck crew caused the March 31 crash of an Air Force MC-130H Combat Talon II in Albania.

The nine Airmen on the 7th Special Operations Squadron aircraft, based at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, were killed. The aircrew was on joint nighttime training mission when the aircraft crashed in a remote mountain location near Tirana, Albania.

The board determined that the crew's loss of situational awareness placed the aircraft in too low a climb with respect to the surrounding mountainous terrain. Responding to the situation, the crew did not use all available power and stalled the aircraft during a turning climb. This resulted in a loss of aircraft control and almost immediate crash.