What happened
During a scheduled training operation at Fort Bragg Air Force Base, a four-engine aircraft was performing a heavy equipment drop over the Sicily Drop Zone. The mission involved the deployment of an M551 Sheridan tank via parachute. During the release sequence, the tank became entangled with the parachute cables.
This entanglement caused the aircraft to lose stability. The flight path became uncontrollable, leading to an aerodynamic stall and a subsequent crash. The incident resulted in one fatality and six injuries among the crew members on board.
Findings
- The primary factor in the accident was the entanglement of the tank with the parachute lines during the drop sequence, which destabilized the aircraft.