Accident Overview
On the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), a squadron was tasked to conduct a fly-past with other base aircraft. Three CC-130 crews planned to recover on runway 29 using a low-level 'battle' break maneuver. The formation positioned itself in echelon right with wingspan spacing. The briefed procedure required a 10° pull and a left turn with 60° of bank, maintaining 2 G's and climbing to 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL) to position downwind. Number 2 and Number 3 were to follow with three-second spacing.
The Collision
Approximately 50° into the turn at 900 feet AGL, Number 2 aircraft collided with the underside of the lead aircraft forward of the left main gear, punching a 5-foot square hole in the floor structure. The forward fuselage of Number 2 separated and freefell into a field. Propellers from Number 3 and Number 4 separated and landed distant from the main wreckage. The tail section of the lead aircraft also separated before ground impact. Control of either aircraft after collision was impossible.
Casualties and Damage
All four occupants of the lead aircraft and all six occupants of Number 2 sustained fatal injuries. Both aircraft crashed inverted. A building and several vehicles were destroyed in an intense fire. The crew of the lead aircraft included Captain Robert William Drake, Captain Iain David Mahaffey, Captain John Derek Thornton, Captain David Arthur Jon Whalen, and Warrant Officer William Iver Oness. The passenger on board was Corporal J. M. Doucet, an air traffic controller.
Probable Cause
The official investigation assigned cause factors:
- Personnel - Pilot - Technique: The pilot of the lead aircraft (Trucker Lead) deviated from the briefed battle break profile, resulting in loss of designed time, vertical, and horizontal separation between Lead and Trucker 2.
- Personnel - Pilot - Inattention: The pilot of Trucker 2 lost visual contact with Lead and continued the maneuver through to impact without reacquiring Lead.
- Personnel - Supervision/435 Squadron - Inattention: Supervisory personnel assigned pilots to perform a maneuver in the CC-130 for which they were inadequately trained, with two pilots having no training at all.
- Personnel - Management/435 Squadron, CFB Edmonton, ATGHQ - Information: The absence of policy regarding air display maneuvers permitted the planning and conduct of an unpublished procedure. No written instructions or standard operating procedures described the CC-130 battle break, which was widely used and condoned at all levels.