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Two rescued after light aircraft ditches in Cardigan Bay off Cemaes Head

The two men aboard were found sitting on the floating wreckage in lifejackets and later returned to thank three RNLI stations; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 10, 2026, 8:24 p.m. ET
people were rescued after a ditched into Cardigan Bay near on 26 June 2025, according to reporting by the Tivyside Advertiser and the Western Telegraph. The outlets report the aircraft was travelling from Ireland to Aberporth when it came down, and that a second aircraft had been flying with it. This account remains developing. The Tivyside Advertiser reports people were on board and both survived. At 6.06pm New Quay RNLI volunteers were alerted by Milford Haven Coastguard and launched their Shannon-class all-weather lifeboat, the outlets report; the response also involved RNLI lifeboats from Cardigan and Fishguard and an HM Coastguard helicopter. The wreckage was found floating with both casualties sitting on top of it wearing lifejackets. They were described as extremely cold but conscious and responsive, and were taken to New Quay harbour and handed to the Welsh Ambulance Service. Both men were discharged from hospital the following day and took the ferry back to Ireland from Fishguard, according to the outlets. The survivors, named in the reporting as JP and Jim, later returned to present a commemorative clock and a €10,000 cheque to the Cardigan, New Quay and Fishguard RNLI stations. The aircraft has not been identified in the available material, and no registration has been reported. The cause of the ditching has not been determined, and no investigative findings have been reported. Geographic reference data places at St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire, in Wales, 7.4 miles west of Aberporth Airport (EGFA).

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
0 ft
Nearest aerodrome
7.4 miles W of Aberporth Airport (EGFA)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 111 Aug 2026, 00:24current

    First published.

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