Maritime and Coastguard Agency report 
On the 9th April London Coastguard are planning to run an Exercise entitled ‘London Glitz’. The Exercise is not based around an actual search and rescue scenario, but the use of a civilian search and rescue helicopter within the London area.
The Exercise will be a run-through from west to east, down river along the civil helicopter lane from Kew to the lower reaches, relaying from emergency service boat to emergency service boat.
Such an exercise will require good communication and co-operation between the various participating services, and the Exercise will familiarise all those `playing’, with the requirements, advantages and limitations of helicopter operations in the event of a major civil incident.
One of our Coastguard helicopters will lift from Lee-on-Solent on the south coast and on board will be a marine support officer from the Metropolitan Police, as a local knowledge ‘spotter’ for external search and rescue helicopters within the London conurbation. The exercise will resemble a relay race in general format.
The aircraft will enter the London civilian helicopter lane at Kew Bridge about 3.0 p.m, picking up the River Thames and heading east, downstream, encountering each player in turn as it progresses. The first unit encountered will be Chiswick in shore lifeboat.(ILB)
The aircrew will winch one crew-member from the ILB on-board the aircraft, before proceeding to the next unit, London Fire Brigade Fire Launch `Fire Dart’ or ‘Fire Flash’.
There, the air crew will lower to deck one creman from the Chiswick ILB, and winch-up one Fire-fighter for relaying to the next unit, and so-on.
Thus, each launch will have one stranger lowered to her deck, and one crewman taken from her to the next boat; a ‘relay’ of persons down the river.
The information room at New Scotland Yard will be asked by London Coastguard to patch various communications with the lifeboat service and with the pilot at the outset of the `incident’ This will help to develop familiarisation of operating within the London environment for the flight crew of Coastguard helicopter 'India Juliet’, and to help local knowledge for the air crew.
During the exercise various winching operations will take place with lifeboat crews which will familiarise the RNLI E-Class in shore lifeboat crews from Chiswick and Tower Pier with helicopter operations, this being the first such instance since their formation. It will also create awareness within the air traffic community of the possible deployment within the London area of the Coastguard aircraft.