A huge military plane carved a bizarre flight path in the skies over Merseyside.
An Airbus A400M was heard as it flew over Liverpool and Wirral at around 7pm on Thursday, July 13. The A400M RAF plane can be used to carry up to 116 fully-equipped troops to remote airfields and operates to an altitude of 40,000 foot.
The plane first set off from RAF Brize Norton in Carterton and headed north towards wales where it circled at least twice. It then went straight up the middle of the Mersey before heading towards Scotland.
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The planes often visit Merseyside for training exercises and have been seen on a number of occasions circling over Liverpool. People posted about the plane as it passed over New Mersey Shopping Park and over The Mersey.
Typically based at Brize Norton, the plane is one of the biggest at the RAF's disposal. As well as vehicles and troops, it has the capacity to carry a Chinook helicopter.
RAF Brize Norton located in Oxfordshire, is the largest RAF Station in the UK with around 5,800 Service Personnel, 1,200 contractors and 300 civilian staff and is home to the RAF's Strategic and Tactical Air Transport (AT) and Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) forces, as well as host to many lodger and reserve units.
The Airbus model is typically referred to as Atlas by the RAF.
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