Terrain-warning settings on a Lockheed Martin C-130J were not adequate, failing to detect the presence of Sweden's Kebnekaise mountain before the Norwegian military transport fatally collided with the peak. All five occupants were killed as the aircraft, bearing tail number 5630, struck the snowy rock face at 280kt (518km/h), just 14s after levelling off at its cleared altitude of 7,000ft. It had been descending towards Kiruna on a service from Evenes, as part of the Cold Response exercise, on 15 March last year. Owing to the high latitude, above 60°N, there was no terrain database available for the forward-looking terrain-awareness system. Cockpit-voice recordings also revealed the crew had acknowledged the system was operating in tactical mode. This mode offers only "degraded" warnings of obstructions, says Swedish investigation authority SHK.
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