[1] The aircraft was participating in the "Cold Response" military exercise, which also involved forces from Germany, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States.

[3] The radar plots show the aircraft maintained a straight course over the last 50 km of the flight until impact, in line with the planned route.

Just prior to the crash, Swedish air traffic controllers at Kiruna cleared the Hercules to descend to 7,000 feet (2,100 meters).

[10][11] Following the accident, a search effort led by Swedish rescue service was launched, but was hampered by snow, wind and cloud cover, impeding helicopter reconnaissance.

Around 4 pm Central European Time on 16 March, a Norwegian P-3 Orion aircraft participating in the search spotted an orange or red object on the ground in the Kebnekaise mountain range.

[14][15] Norwegian helicopters attempted to locate and identify the object, but due to the weather conditions, the search was called off before any finds were made.

[21] The aircraft is considered to have been completely destroyed by the impact and the following explosion, and on 22 March work began on moving debris from the temporary investigative base in Nikkaluokta near the crash site to an aircraft hangar at Kiruna Airport, but efforts were still being hampered by adverse weather and the discovery of further cracks in the glacier on which the debris is located.