FINAL FLIGHT
Chinook drafted in to remove wreckage of chopper destroyed in Gwynedd mountaintop blaze
THE wreckage of a helicopter which burst into flames after landing on a mountain has been removed.
A Chinook airlifted the remains of the RAF Griffin chopper six days after it was destroyed by fire after making a “precautionary landing” on Yr Aran in Snowdonia.
No one was hurt in the incident and the RAF has had the wreck under constant surveillance since then.
The Chinook from RAF Odiham, Hampshire, used a giant bag to recover the trainingg chopper,pp , mak- ing at least two trips between the site and Caernarfon Airport where the wreckage was loaded onto lorries.
RAF Valley staff were on the mountain yesterday to assist in the recovery.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the operation and said it was against giving a “play by play” commentary.
Investigators are yet to reveal the cause of the fire, with all four military personnel and one civilian passenger on board having escaped unhurt before the helicopter burst into flames.
A command rescue centre was set upp at Nant Peris,, with a Coastguardg helicopter, air ambulance, police, ambulance and fire services and mountain rescuers involved in the operation.
RAF spokesman Wing Commander Martin Tinworth said the helicopter, based at RAF Valley, was engaged in pick ups and drop offs at the time and was about to collect a fifth military person when the incident happened.
A witness to yesterday’s operation said: “I saw a Chinook flying from the mountains carrying something underneath it at about 1.45pm. You don’t see them very often, and I thought it must be something connected to the fire.”