What happened
On the morning of the incident, a crew was conducting a daytime navigation training flight originating from Llandwrog near Caernarvon. While returning from Shrewsbury, the aircraft encountered cloud cover shortly before 10:30 am. The pilot observed a sheep passing below and instinctively pulled back on the control yoke to climb. This action caused the aircraft to stall onto rising terrain, striking a large rock that spun the machine so it faced downhill.
The fuselage remained intact, allowing the five crew members to survive the impact. Although one wing was destroyed, the team successfully transmitted a wireless message to Llandwrog reporting the crash. Using Direction Finding equipment, the Flying Control Officer estimated their position near Tal y Fan. However, the aircraft's battery power failed before a precise fix could be established. The crew were instructed to fire red flares every thirty minutes to assist rescue efforts.
Mountain Rescue teams departed at 11:00 and drove up the track from Rowen around the southern side of Tal y Fan. The route became difficult due to narrow paths, overhanging trees, and large boulders. Initial confusion arose when two flares were spotted near Llyn Dulyn, but these were identified as being fired by an Army Battle Unit training in the area. That unit subsequently reported sighting a crashed aircraft high on Foel Fras. Rescue teams proceeded up the Dulyn valley and located the crew at a farm called Tan y Bwlch. The crash site was reached at 15:00, and the survivors were evacuated to Station Sick Quarters for medical assessment.
Findings
The accident occurred during a routine training exercise when the pilot reacted instinctively to avoid ground obstacles while in cloud. This maneuver resulted in an aerodynamic stall into rising terrain. The survival of all five crew members was attributed to the structural integrity of the fuselage despite the destruction of one wing.