What happened
On the morning of the accident, the crew departed from Walker AFB at 0630LT to begin a scheduled nine-hour low-level survey training mission. While navigating through marginal weather conditions, the four-engine aircraft flew over the town of Gray Mountain at an altitude of approximately 60 feet.
During this phase of flight, the aircraft struck a mountain slope roughly 35 miles from Flagstaff. The force of the impact caused the plane to disintegrate. There were no survivors among the 16 fatalities recorded in the incident.
Findings
At the time of the collision, the area was experiencing low cloud cover which resulted in limited visibility for the crew. The flight was operating at a very low altitude during these difficult meteorological conditions.