There, but for the grace of God, goes pretty much every military helicopter aviator I have ever met, myself included.
If this incident was correctly reported (and in the UK press that is normally a very big IF!!!) then the real issue here is the massive error of judgement by two officers and two SNCOs. I guarantee that crew will have known about the recent high profile incident of a SAR helicopter dropping in to collect some meat from the butchers. They may even know the pilot who was suspended as a result.
The UK is broke, people are eating at food banks and the RAF are using tax payers helicopters to go for ice cream. That's how the public will perceive this and 10 seconds of thought beforehand could have prevented it.
Message from SAR Force Commander to Helicopter Crew. Message reads: "sharpen up". Stronger message to follow?
