What happened
On a tactical airlift mission, a CC130 operating under the callsign Trucker 5 departed from 18 Wing Namao, Alberta, at 1555Z. The flight was conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) with the objective of reaching the Saville Farm extraction zone near Camp Wainwright. Before proceeding to the primary mission site, the crew performed a dry pass at Namao to practice both a Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES) profile and emergency procedures. At the time of takeoff, the aircraft had an all-up-weight of 118,914 pounds.
Following the practice maneuvers, the aircraft continued along its low-level route toward the designated extraction zone. The mission initially proceeded as planned, and the aircraft reached the Saville Farm area on schedule. However, while executing the LAPES extraction maneuver, the aircraft struck the ground shortly after its expected time on target of 1630Z. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and caused five fatalities and four injuries among the crew members.