Low-flying aircraft sparks Pendle ‘999 panic’
6:40pm Friday 3rd September 2010 in
-
- By Jon Livesey » Reporter
A LOW-flying RAF plane travelling low over the Pendle countryside last night prompting panic-stricken residents to call 999.
Police said five people contacted them to report an ‘exceptionally’ low aircraft flying above their homes between 8.45pm and 9.15pm.
One caller said the plane was so low that they could make out the pilot in the cockpit, officers said.
An RAF spokesman today confirmed a Hercules plane from RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire, had been on a standard low-flying exercise in the area.
Following concerns raised by residents in Nelson and Colne, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to ask the Defence Flying Complaints Investigation Team, a specialist arm of the Military Police, to look into whether any breach of regulations took place.
According to Inspector David Davenport, of Burnley Police, a handful of callers gave varying descriptions of the plane.
The first caller claimed to have seen a large plane at 400ft emitting ‘clouds of smoke’ and heading towards Boulsworth Hill.
A second person reported a plane at 500ft over Thursden Valley ‘banking sharply to the left’.
The next caller insisted that the aircraft was ‘lower than a nearby chimney at 100ft’ and claimed it was so low ‘they could see the pilot’.
Another resident reported seeing a plane at 250ft and then the final caller at 9.15pm, who rang from West Yorkshire, told police they thought it was a military aircraft similar to a Hercules transport plane.
Under UK regulations it is prohibited for a fix-wing aircraft like the Hercules model to fly at a separation distance of under 250ft.
Andrew Stephenson, MP for Pendle, vowed to find out exactly what the aircraft was doing.
He said: “I know the MoD and RAF have strict regulations with low-flying training exercises, which are key to part of what they do.
"They are strict because of the nuisance they can cause.
“I can certainly do a bit more digging to find out more.”
Comments(28)
Kevin, Colne
says...
12:07pm Fri 3 Sep 10
It was very, very low, certainly the lowest we have ever seen of any plane in many a year.
adelaideblue
says...
12:32pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Why is this news?
mtx-d
says...
12:43pm Fri 3 Sep 10
MerlinTheVoiceofReason
says...
1:05pm Fri 3 Sep 10
batfastard
says...
2:45pm Fri 3 Sep 10
.
Who says irony is dead?
Redbike
says...
3:57pm Fri 3 Sep 10
adelaideblue wrote:I remember when they put Traffic Lights in Padiham centre - drew a crowd for weeks, all watching, staring and woo-ing in amazement as they changed.
Residents in the Burnley area pointing aircraft. Why is this news?
Rocksta
says...
4:09pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Redbike wrote:Nice,
adelaideblue wrote: Residents in the Burnley area pointing aircraft. Why is this news?I remember when they put Traffic Lights in Padiham centre - drew a crowd for weeks, all watching, staring and woo-ing in amazement as they changed.
Davidoff
says...
4:19pm Fri 3 Sep 10
.
I was half expecting to be reading about the annoying 'buzz plane' that flies over the region regularly, a small plane, clearly on training, it's regularly doing loops in the sky, engine cut outs/stalls ... I'd be more worried about those sorts of things flying over the regions towns and villages more than anything else!
Tetley Drinker
says...
4:31pm Fri 3 Sep 10
A later inquiry suggested it was Rovers player Simon Garner and a group of fans who financed the stunt from Blackpool Airport, triggering a national Civil Aviation Authority Inquiry - it was splashed all over the national newspapers and deeply humiliating for Burnley fans watching in stunned silence - can personally testify to that as i was in the old Bee Hole End watching a game of pub standard football ( Burnley eventually lost 2-1 on aggregate to Torquay).
Is talk of repeating it again at the right moment but i dont know whether Garner would get involved after the last incident. That summer there were loads of people in Accy and Blackburn wearing Blackburn Rovers Flying Club tee-shirts bearing the date of the fly past and picture of a plane across the front.
Buzz Lightyear
says...
4:49pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Redbike
says...
4:58pm Fri 3 Sep 10
mtx-d wrote:Good job it didn't land - hang Monkeys up there don't they?
flew over my house last night in hartlepool, sounded like it was struggling to me. was also very low flying here.
Centaur
says...
5:03pm Fri 3 Sep 10
I'm sure it wasn't coming in to land in Nelson!!
Stone Island
says...
5:08pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Longtimerover
says...
7:10pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Usually earlier than the latest one reported.
I can tell you a local landmark in Colne that they always seemed to make for as a waypoint on their course.
useyourhead
says...
8:01pm Fri 3 Sep 10
NeedISayMore?
says...
8:35pm Fri 3 Sep 10
-
Methinks that should be six engined.. or someones overordered wings.
NeedISayMore?
says...
8:41pm Fri 3 Sep 10
JohnR1
says...
10:07pm Fri 3 Sep 10
NeedISayMore? wrote:Fix-wing (as in fixed-wing). Typo slipped past the eagle eyed LET proof reader!!??
Under UK regulations it is prohibited for a six-wing aircraft like the Hercules model to fly at a separation distance of under 250ft - Methinks that should be six engined.. or someones overordered wings.
Teamteecee
says...
11:43pm Fri 3 Sep 10
Tetley Drinker wrote:Cowardly little man. Just as well you have no kids, they would be ashamed of you. Not much of a man at all.
Seems a bit early for this. Last time was the famous Rovers flypast over the Turf in 1991 with that huge 40 ft long banner : staying down 4 ever, luv Rovers. Buzzed the ground very low 3 times in the Play Off game against Torquay, outraging the Turf Moor faithful.
A later inquiry suggested it was Rovers player Simon Garner and a group of fans who financed the stunt from Blackpool Airport, triggering a national Civil Aviation Authority Inquiry - it was splashed all over the national newspapers and deeply humiliating for Burnley fans watching in stunned silence - can personally testify to that as i was in the old Bee Hole End watching a game of pub standard football ( Burnley eventually lost 2-1 on aggregate to Torquay).
Is talk of repeating it again at the right moment but i dont know whether Garner would get involved after the last incident. That summer there were loads of people in Accy and Blackburn wearing Blackburn Rovers Flying Club tee-shirts bearing the date of the fly past and picture of a plane across the front.
swizz
says...
12:00am Sat 4 Sep 10
Chris P Bacon
says...
9:22am Sat 4 Sep 10
swizz wrote:No lower form of life exists than Tetley Dribbler.
Look at all the silly football comments above. Burnley wasn't even mentioned in the article. Also, and for future reference, Burnley isn't in Pendle.
Tetley Drinker
says...
2:18pm Sat 4 Sep 10
Sorry for the short post : I have to prepare for an outside UK WORK trip next week;-)
Chris P Bacon
says...
2:40pm Sat 4 Sep 10
Tetley Drinker wrote:Yes, they've stopped basket-weaving for the mentally ill in this country now so they have to go to loser countries to carry on their oh-so-vital 'work'.
Yes but it was a famous stunt which might well be repeated and funny as f***k on the night. People outside those ratholes you refer to as Burnley & Pendle dont draw the distinction.
Sorry for the short post : I have to prepare for an outside UK WORK trip next week;-)
You don't even possess the sense to be embarrassed about how very thick you are, do you.
mtx-d
says...
3:01pm Sat 4 Sep 10
Redbike wrote:no idea mate, I hail from blackburn, born and bred
mtx-d wrote:Good job it didn't land - hang Monkeys up there don't they?
flew over my house last night in hartlepool, sounded like it was struggling to me. was also very low flying here.
pocketdragon
says...
9:20pm Sat 4 Sep 10
Most of the people who dialled for the emergencies were probably old and cant see very well, otherwise the report would be more accurate to how many engines/wings or whatnot. At the minute we're assuming that its something that resembled a plane but with either too many wings or if the ones that were present (however many) were fixed or detached. I now find myself asking why the fk do i bother reading LET anymore?
RoverInRotterdam
says...
10:58pm Sat 4 Sep 10
urdygurdy
says...
8:27am Sun 12 Sep 10
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pez63 says...
11:58am Fri 3 Sep 10