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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
John Cooper

Why a huge military aircraft was flying low over Swansea before circling over Carmarthen Bay

A massive military plane was spotted over Swansea before repeatedly circling over Carmarthen Bay. People in the vicinity of Swansea and Gower spotted the Royal Air Force (RAF) transport as it followed its flight path and skirted Rhossili Bay before heading to Pembrey Country Park.

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 feet-long aircraft as it approached before reaching for their cameras or phones to record the sight of it flying low over homes around Swansea.

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The aircraft had an interesting flight path (Flight Radar 24)
It circled over Carmarthen Bay a number of times (Flight Radar 24)

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 120,000 kilogrammes when fully loaded.

These pictures and the video above were taken from the garden of a resident in Gorseinon on Tuesday afternoon.

It was spotted flying low over gardens in Gorseinon (Lisa Colfer)
...before it headed off to Carmarthen Bay (Lisa Colfer)

It 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. "   

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