What happened
On the night of 1 December, a military aircraft was conducting a cross-country navigation exercise departing from its base at Jurby on the Isle of Man. The flight path involved a circular route over the Irish Sea. While flying westward, the aircraft encountered the gentle grassy slopes of the Carneddau range in Wales and crashed.
Following the impact, two members of the crew managed to walk down the mountain to Bethesda, where they spent the night inside the wreckage before reaching the village store. The RAF Mountain Rescue team based at Llandwrog was alerted by the station's Flying Control Officer around 12:30 on 1 December. Initial searches north and west of Carnedd Llewellyn yielded no results before sunset forced a withdrawal.
The following morning, search operations resumed at 07:30 near Carnedd Dafydd. At 11:00, a third crew member was reported to have reached Bethesda and provided specific details regarding the location of the aircraft and the remaining survivor. Search parties were redirected to the area between Foel Grach and Garnedd Uchaf, near the cliffs of Craig y Dulyn. By 15:30, the wreckage was located. The fourth crew member was found alive inside the aircraft's turret. He was reported to be suffering from dehydration, starvation, and a fractured foot, but remained in high spirits. A stretcher party recovered him, and he arrived at the ambulance after nightfall.
Findings
The accident occurred during a low-visibility night navigation exercise. The crew successfully evacuated the aircraft on foot, with three members reaching safety independently. The final survivor was trapped in the turret for approximately two days before being located by rescue teams using coordinates provided by the other survivors.