What happened
During a NATO-led training exercise conducted over Northern Europe, an aircraft struck the side of Mt Prins Karls Forberland. The incident occurred just after midnight during a period of night operations characterized by restricted visibility. While traveling at approximately 320 km/h in a slight nose-up orientation, the plane impacted the mountain slope located in the western region of the Svalbard archipelago.
The wreckage was discovered the following day by the crew of a Norwegian Air Force HU-16 Albatross. The debris field was located roughly 500 feet beneath the mountain's summit. There were no survivors of the impact, with a total of 11 fatalities recorded among the crew.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that the primary factor in the crash was controlled flight into terrain.