A police helicopter operator received a shock when a plane unexpectedly flew over crowds in Windsor over the weekend.
The Berkshire town, near Heathrow Airport, was crowded with some 100,000 well-wishers keen to catch a glimpse of newlyweds the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
So while the operator was conducting a quick scan of crowds 8,000ft up in the air, a plane flying below caught the crew member by surprise.
… That awkward moment where you're innocently scanning crowd numbers around the Royal wedding and a plane several thousand feet BELOW us scares me for a split second! @ThamesVP @AerLingus #p6572 pic.twitter.com/5T37J6ANtk
— NPAS Benson (@NPASBenson) May 19, 2018
Incredibly, the AerLingus plane appears much closer than it actually was – 5,000 feet below.
— NPAS Benson (@NPASBenson) May 20, 2018
The airline seemed to enjoy the moment.
oh hai https://t.co/zQo28RgfuU
— Aer Lingus (@AerLingus) May 19, 2018
One Twitter user worked out that the plane, which was on approach to Heathrow, may have been coming in from Dublin, according to Flight Radar 24.
Great photos!
As long as the time on the photo is BST – I think it’s EI166 which was at 1,208ft at 14:50.
A320 aircraft ✈️ #avgeek pic.twitter.com/WbhjpM23P3
— Alice E (@notemptynesting) May 20, 2018
As expected, security on Saturday was tight, and airspace above the town was closed for 15 minutes just before the start of the royal wedding service.
A Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) was in place to prohibit flying above Windsor, apart from police and air ambulance
However planes controlled by the National Air Traffic Service (NATS), which include those coming from Heathrow Airport, were permitted to fly.
There was a NOTAM prohibiting any flying (incl. drones) except police, air ambulance and traffic under the control of @NATS (so stuff for Heathrow). Hope that helps!
— NPAS Benson (@NPASBenson) May 20, 2018