Two C-130 Hercules planes, assigned to the 352nd Special Operations Group, RAF Mildenhall, departed Tirana for a night training mission to work on terrain-following and avoidance skills, airdrops and landing using night-vision goggles. The planes were flying 300 feet above the mountainous terrain when 87-0127 was approaching a ridge. The airplane was not able to clear the ridge and stalled as the crew attempted to climb away. The accident investigation board determined that the crew’s loss of situational awareness placed the aircraft in too low a climb with respect to the surrounding mountainous terrain. Responding to the situation, the crew did not use all available power and stalled the aircraft during a turning climb. This resulted in a loss of aircraft control and almost immediate crash.