What happened
On a scheduled night training mission, an aircraft departed from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, bound for K. I. Sawyer AFB, Wisconsin. The primary objective of this flight was to evaluate the operational performance of a newly implemented ground reconnaissance radar system.
While the flight was conducting low-altitude maneuvers during the nighttime hours, the aircraft type (unspecified in source) impacted a line of trees. Following this impact, the plane entered a stall and descended into a heavily forested region situated south of Stone Lake. The collision resulted in the total destruction of the airframe.
Findings
There were nine fatalities recorded during the accident, as all crew members on board perished. The sequence of events indicates that the aircraft struck trees while flying at low altitude, which led to the loss of control and subsequent crash.