Wreckage of burnt out RAF helicopter as five crew escape after emergency Snowdonia landing
Huge blaze moments after crew escaped sent 10ft flames into the sky
THIS is the burnt-out wreck of an RAF training helicopter that burst into flames seconds after the crew leapt out following an emergency landing on a mountain peak in Snowdonia.
The five-strong crew of the Griffin chopper made a "precautionary landing" on the mountain after experiencing a "technical fault" while practising a rescue operation, the Ministry of Defence said.
Moments after the crew safely got out of the helicopter it then burst into flames sending a thick pall of smoke high into the sky.
Walkers believed the chopper had crashed after seeing the huge blaze with ten-foot flames on the mountain top.
Firefighters, the police and an air ambulance rushed to the scene, along with a Coastguard helicopter and mountain rescue teams from Ogwen Valley and Aberglaslyn.
Witness Huw Price told how he saw the stricken chopper flying low as he climbed the summit of Mount Snowdon.
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Huw told the Sun Online: "There was a helicopter - looked blue and yellow to me - flying in the valley below Snowdon. It circled around the Watkins Path that I was on.
"There was no bang or explosion - I thought it had flown away until a few mins later when I noticed the fire.
"You could see the flames from Snowdon and the smoke was thick and black.
"Someone passing said they saw the helicopter land there shortly before. Another with binoculars said the flames were over ten feet high and obscured whatever was on fire."
Another witness said: “There was no bang or explosion, I thought it had flown away until a few minutes later when I noticed the fire.
“You could see the flames from Snowdon and the smoke was thick and black.”
Another tweeted: “I didn’t see much apart from bright yellow flame & then black smoke.”
The Griffin chopper had set out on the training sortie from its base around 35 miles away at RAF Valley in Anglesey.
The MoD said six people were involved in the training exercise - four military personnel and a civilian on board the aircraft and another servicemen who was on the ground waiting to be "rescued" as part of the drill. They were all unharmed.
A spokesman said: “A Griffin training helicopter safely completed a precautionary landing in Snowdonia this afternoon following a technical issue.
"Everyone on board exited safely. Subsequently the aircraft caught fire. Emergency services are on the scene.”
The six people involved were later helicoptered to safety.
Chief Inspector Nick Evans of North Wales Police said: "Just before 1.45pm today emergency services attended to reports of a helicopter crash landing in the Yr Aran area of Snowdon.
"The Wales Air Ambulance in partnership with the Welsh Ambulance Service attended the location along with North Wales Police and Mountain Rescue Teams.
"It transpires that an RAF training helicopter from RAF Valley safely completed a precautionary landing in Snowdonia this afternoon following a technical issue.
"All occupants of the aircraft exited safely before the aircraft caught fire."
The Griffin HT1 is used in the Royal Air Force to train pilots at the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley and the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury, Shrops.
Prince William flew one when he was training to be an RAF rescue pilot, and Prince Harry trained in one before going on to fly Apache attack choppers in the Army.