Ystradgynlais Aircraft Crash Site
8) Vulcan XH536
Crashed 11th February 1966
The Vulcan aircraft, with the designation XH536, crashed in the Brecon Beacons on 11th February 1966. The table below explains the circumstances and location of the crash, as well as access details and a generic photograph of this kind of aircraft. Thank you to Mr E G Morgan of Bridgend for his additional information below.
| Type of Aircraft | Vulcan |
| Designation | XH536 |
| Date of Crash | 11th Feb 1966 (20 years after WW2) |
| Location of Crash | on Fan Bwlch Chwyth, at about 590m |
| Reason for Flight | crashed during Terrain Following Radar trials |
| Reason for Crash | crashed due to bad weather at low altitude |
| Fate of the Aircrew | all 5 crew members were killed |
| Wreckage Notes | bulk of the wreckage was removed by the authorities but some small pieces remain |
| Memorial Notes | |
| Access Information | This crash site is on private ground and permission to enter may be refused at certain times of the year |
| Photo of Aircraft Type | 
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| Map Information |
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From Mr E G Morgan of Bridgend, by contact with YEARGroup:-
Vulcan Bomber XH536 Mk 2, crashed 11th February 1966 at Fan Bwlch Chwyth, Heol Senni
This document is to record a discussion between my father Mr M R Morgan, M.E., and Mr Gwilym Price regarding the Vulcan crash.
My father was related to Mr Tom Evan Price, the owner of Pantyffordd Farm, Heol Senni, and on a number of occasions we visited them and the family. The son was Mr Gwilym Price and the main business of the farm was sheep farming so he had a good knowledge of the mountain local to the farm. On one of these visits in the following Summer to the incident, Gwilym related to my father what part he had in it. This is explained below.
On the day in question Gwilym heard a crash on the mountain above Pantyffordd Farm and thought it must have been a plane crash. He telephoned the police at Brecon and reported to them that he had heard what he thought was a plane crash on the mountain. The police said they would make enquiries with the appropriate authorities. An hour later they returned the call and said they had made enquiries and have been told that there were no reports of any planes missing.
At some time in the night the police arrived at the farm accompanied by RAF officers who asked if they could talk to the person who had reported the crash. They said there was a plane missing and its planned route was over the Senni valley. Gwilym described what he heard and following this discussion the RAF officers wanted to search for the plane but Gwilym advised against this in view of darkness, difficult weather conditions and the location of the quarry on the mountainside close to the route they would have to take to get to the site of the crash. The RAF officers agreed and at first light they set off with Gwilym leading the way.
It did not take long to reach the crash site as Gwilym had been right as to its location.
As one can imagine the plane had broken up on impact over a wide area and amongst the debris were the remains of the crew. Gwilym saw many body parts scattered around and described the scene as horrific.
He returned to the farm leaving the RAF officers on the mountain. They did return to the farm on a number of occasions to use the telephone.
I heard Gwilym tell my father what I have outlined above so it is authentic but its likely that I will have forgotten some of the discussion over the prevailing years.
Return to the Brecon Beacons Aircraft Crash Index.