What happened
The incident occurred during a night training flight involving a combined exercise. The aircraft departed from RAF Brampton in the early evening as part of a group of four similar machines. While en route, the crew faced challenging environmental factors, specifically low visibility, marginal weather conditions, and strong winds. These conditions caused the aircraft to deviate from its intended course. Consequently, the airframe struck the summit of a hill with its right wing before crashing. All five members of the crew were injured and required evacuation. The aircraft sustained damage that rendered it beyond repair.
Findings
The primary contributing factor was the combination of low visibility and strong winds during the night operation. These weather conditions led to a loss of course accuracy, resulting in the collision with terrain.