What: Norwegian military Hercules C-130-J cargo plane en route from Evenes military base to Kiruna Sweden (military exercise)
Where: Kebnekaise Mountain
When: March 15, 2012
Who: 5 fatalities
Why: The plane disappeared from radar as it crossed a mountain range in northern Sweden. It apparently flew into the west side of the mountain, demolishing the plane into pieces smaller than a sheet of paper. There had been bad weather (poor visibility brought on by low clouds, snow and strong winds) at the time of the crash. Harsh weather in the area has been delaying recovery. Wreckage is strewn over a wide area on top of Robots Glacier on the western side of Kebnekaise. No signal was heard from the Hercules’ emergency transmitter.
The Norwegian armed forces indicated that the accident may have occurred when pilots flew manually instead of on autopilot. The mission involved tactical flying. Crew members lost in the crash were Lt. Col. Truls Oerpen, 46; Capt. Staale Garberg, 42; Capt. Bjoern Yngvar Haug, 40; Capt. Steinar Utne, 35; and Capt. Siw Robertsen, 45
