A flight to the Isle of Wight by the National Police Air Service helicopter remains shrouded in mystery amid claims the chopper landed in the back garden of a crew member’s friend’s house – and stayed there for over half an hour.
At around 21:10 on Tuesday 23rd May, the NPAS helicopter G-POLH from Redhill, Surrey headed straight for Newport following the completion of a missing person tasking on the outskirts of Southampton. Island Echo deployed an on-call reporter to the area of Downend on the assumption that an incident of public interest was occurring, but it soon became clear things were not as expected…
The helicopter circled just twice before quickly landing in the grounds of a private property off Burnt House Lane – only the 3rd time that Island Echo has witnessed a Police helicopter landing on the Isle of Wight in more than 12 years, indicating the rather unusual nature of the situation. The other incidents were a negotiator transfer and a plane crash.
The penny dropped as to what was going on when a member of the public claimed to Island Echo’s reporter that there was ‘nothing to worry about’, whilst suggesting 1 of the individuals on board the helicopter was known to the property owners.
With nudges from a male to keep quiet, the woman claimed:
“It’s my godfather, he works there”.
Usually with a Police helicopter tasking you would expect to see some activity on the ground, but not a single Police officer or vehicle could be seen. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has since confirmed to Island Echo that they were not involved in any incidents in the area of Burnt House Lane on the evening of 23rd May.
Over the past 3 weeks, Island Echo has been in discussions with the National Police Air Service about the helicopter’s unusual journey that night, with questions and statements going back and forth about the policing purpose of the trip.
In their initial statement, NPAS said that the journey was a training flight for the pilot as part of their ‘currency requirements’. On this occasion, to satisfy the licence requirements, the pilot had to complete an ad hoc landing, which was carried out on private land. However, in the same breath, the statement said that the landing was completed with the permission of the landowner, suggesting some element of pre-planning.
It has been said that on completing the training flight, the crew was tasked to support Surrey Police in locating a man sighted with a knife. This wasn’t immediately though… it is known that the NPAS chopper was on the ground for around 30 minutes – doing what we don’t know – leaving the Island at 21:45 and flying directly to the incident at Sandhurst.
When questioned as to why an ad hoc landing led to the rotors being shut down and the crew staying on the ground for half an hour, a 2nd statement was issued in which NPAS said that following the ad hoc landing, the crew were standing by to ‘carry out proactive, evidence-gathering operations on the South Coast’. These operations were not carried out from the Isle of Wight that night.
The Force has not addressed claims that the landing took place on land allegedly owned by a friend or family member of 1 of the crew, nor has a direct response been given to questions as to whether it is routine for NPAS to standby for live operations in someone’s back garden…
Furthermore, there has been no explanation given as to why it was decided to fly all the way to the Isle of Wight on the evening of 23rd May when this ‘ad hoc landing’ could have been carried out anywhere in the South of England.
Was the flight a jolly to the Isle of Wight…?
A spokesperson for National Police Air Service has said:
“Shortly after 9pm on Tuesday 23 May 2023, a police helicopter crew had completed a tasking over Southampton, assisting Hampshire Police in searching for a high risk missing person.
“Separately, the pilot was required to complete a training flight as part of his ‘currency requirements’. Currency refers to the amount and type of flying or training every pilot needs to do, within a designated period of time, in order maintain the skill levels required of a police pilot.
“NPAS crews regularly carry out such training flights, either specifically lifting to do so, or taking the opportunity whilst already airborne, between taskings.
“On this occasion, whilst airborne, the crew completed the necessary training flight, which included the requirement to complete an ad hoc landing. The training flight lasted eight minutes, and the ad hoc landing was completed on private land, with the permission of the landowner.
“The crew were standing by to carry out proactive, evidence-gathering operations on the south coast that evening when they were deployed to an active tasking in Surrey at about 9.45pm. The police helicopter from NPAS Bournemouth was offline at the time”.
When asked to address the claims of a familial connection, the spokesperson said:
“The circumstances [of the flight] have been reviewed by a senior officer and we are satisfied with the appropriateness of actions”.
NPAS is funded through contributions from Police forces, which are funded by the public purse. The cost per hour for flying NPAS aircraft is £3,200 (as of 2021).
Any barbecued sausages involved?
Perhaps if we returned the flotsam to where it had drifted in from, then their would be less knife crime in the UK.
For since certain arrivals carry knives, then clearly the indigenous will follow to feel more safer, even if that assumption is wrong.
Was Boris the pilot going to see his mate half a sausage, that is the searching question.
It wasn’t me, nahhh, it wasn’t me….
On a jolly! He needs a jolly good talking to! I paid my taxes all my working life (now retired) for police officers to pop round their mates for tea! I’ve had a gutful of it I really have…Steve
No one cares will you be my girlfriend
Has anyone seen the paper boy in wroxall? I last sees him last Friday and not a peep since, wondering if he’s pulled a fast one with my weekly payment. The wife is missing her soaps as we don’t have our tv guide…Steve
1) You pay the actual paperboy rather than the newsagents?
2) What kind of contraption are you attempting to watch TV on for your wife to miss her soaps? Analogue signal went years ago so you would need at least a digi-box, which has a tv guide in it anyway.
End of the world. Fire these guys!
This is a joke isn’t it???? SURELY NPAS wouldn’t allow a pilot to fly away from a central patch to land in a mates back garden, on the edge of their patrol area, hang about for 30 minutes, and then get back to work?… Would never happen would it? Their defence wouldn’t pass an interrogation by a real policeman investigating a crime, but it’s enough to fob off a backwater online news site who believe everything our honest and reliable Police force say… Or would it?? I have never heard such a load of rubbish from, what used to be, an honest and trustworthy profession. WELL DONE islandecho for following this story and I hope the truth will out, but I suspect answers may not be given in light of current image problems.
Some pig wasting my money and our time
You are a sad sad individual.
what time was jackanory on.
Perhaps one of the crew was ‘caught short’?
So maybe he was taking the piss with permission.
A pilot has to carry out a landing at short notice (“ad hoc”) into an unfamiliar but necessarily pre-authorised landing-ground, from a random direction and height and at some distance from base. That’s exactly what this pilot did, and it makes sense to use a “freindly” location where safety on the ground can be assured.
Nothing to see here …
You know this. I know this.
Obviously an article intended to rattle the usual cages rather than present anything of real public interest.
Maybe they were team building
Lol
U still got ur pot
That chopper was the only thing to cross the solent that cost more than the pirate ferries that day.
Must be friends of the Tory party ,,, all know how to avoid the truth
Or its just scurrilous Too good trying hard”stull”to convince Island population he us a journalist?? “why won’t anybody believe me” type cry
Amazing, isn’t it?
People’s mentality, I mean.
A police helicopter lands on the Island and, guess what, the local village idiot has to desperately try to make a political point out of it.
What a load of baloney !
Really surprised they no where to land considering their are no police anywhere on the island
A bent helicopter and a bent sausage that’s dodge
Possible erb collection/drop off
heh… it
s only taxpayers moneyDoes it really matter? They work hard enough let them have a beer
Does this actually matter, they inconvenienced no one in the area and why do they have to give you an explanation
Non Story,Does it Really Matter???