Preflight check of flight control would have prevented this. Back to basics and fundamentals and the simple things that kill people and destroy aircraft. Kneeboard charts and preflight-postflight checklists are there for a reason.
Did you read the story? The placement of the goggle case behind the yoke is “non-standard procedure” and there is nothing on the checklist to remind the pilots to remove it. It was just an oversight and what HAL would call “human error”.
I’m a former C-130 crew member (back end, not front end), but there is a requirement on the pre-flight checklist for flight controls/freedom of movement. But, it was nighttime; they were doing an engine running off-load/on-load, and they had other stops ahead of them. Plus, they were using NVGs and cockpit illumination was low.
My guess is the pilot or co-pilot didn’t push the yoke through the full range of motion on the flight control check and didn’t feel the case behind the yoke. It happens; you’re trying to get off the ground and stay on schedule, so you go a little fast through the checklist and miss an indication of a potential problem.
That set the stage for disaster. When they became airborne and the aircraft pitched up, the flight deck crew misdiagnosed the problem and applied the wrong corrective action. The Herk stalled and crashed, killing 14 people, on the aircraft and on the ground.
A lesson learned tragically, but the mishap in Afghanistan will save other lives in the C-130 community.