Huge RAF plane spotted over Swansea
A MASSIVE military plane was spotted over Swansea this week before it repeatedly circled over Carmarthen Bay.
People in the vicinity of Swansea and Gower spotted the Royal Air Force transport as it followed its flight path and skirted Rhossili Bay before heading to Pembrey Country Park and Cefn Sidan beach.
Tracking data from the website Flight Radar 24 shows that the Airbus A400M Atlas started its 200-mile round trip at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the largest airfield of the RAF.
Its flight path was quite bizarre as it got to Pembrey and circled a number of times over Carmarthen Bay before heading back the way it came, all on Tuesday, October 13.
People first noticed the roar of the four engines of the nearly 150-foot-long aircraft as it approached before reaching for their cameras or phones to record the sight of it flying
low over homes around Swansea.
Although the flight path of the aircraft looks a little unusual, the route taken was part of a low-level flying training exercise.
The Airbus A400M Atlas can carry troops or cargo and has room for up to 116 fully-equipped soldiers in its hold. It has a wingspan of 139 feet and weighs about 118 tons when fully loaded.
This picture (left) was taken from the garden of a resident in Gorseinon on Tuesday afternoon.
The plane has a cruise speed of 485mph.
A spokeswoman for the RAF said: “The A400M Atlas was carrying out essential training yesterday over Swansea, involving low-level flying.”