NORDO over England 04/03/2023, N362PH
Indeed, only takes one. Would the number of persons on board be known to the person authorising Q and would it have any bearing on the decision?
I'd just tee'd off the 15th (near Leicester) when the sonic booms arrived, scared the living bejeezus out of us all. Glad it turned out to be a "routine" intercept that ended safely.
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Who owns this hunk of junk? Why is it operating in and out of the UK?
As has been suggested they looked like they were going into LHR which seems unusual but the whole situation is unusual - the CAA should comment
As has been suggested they looked like they were going into LHR which seems unusual but the whole situation is unusual - the CAA should comment
Intended route was Iceland to Kenya via Southend. Perhaps they though a tech stop en route was preferable to plummeting into the Med.
Over Reading at 15,000 ft didn't suggest a Heathrow inbound to me.
As has been suggested they looked like they were going into LHR which seems unusual but the whole situation is unusual - the CAA should comment
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Even a single seat Cessna into a football stadium would be catastophic. As an example (not withstanding timing) weren't Chelsea at home that day? A potential audience circa 40,000 people in a relatively confined area just a few miles east of LHR.
Did this aircraft actually fly over LHR at 7000' whence it made the sharp turn onto north? Somebody either instructed it to go that way or it did so of its own accord. Does anyone know which it was?
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That information may be known, but it’s academic. Until some radio or visual contact is made nobody has any idea what’s going on aboard the aircraft, and the interceptors have to possess the means to destroy it if ordered. It’s not a game.
I had a helicopter depart from Wycombe and the ATCO recorded 3 pob. When it crashed, the police recorded pob as 2. I double checked with Wycombe and they were adamant they had booked out with 3. I tried to tell the police but they weren't interested so I managed to get hold of the AAIB inspector and told him.
Sure enough they eventually found a third body some distance from the helicopter. They guessed she'd realised there was a problem and had jumped out before impact.
Doesn't stop a hitch hiker asking the pilot for a lift at the last minute.
I had a helicopter depart from Wycombe and the ATCO recorded 3 pob. When it crashed, the police recorded pob as 2. I double checked with Wycombe and they were adamant they had booked out with 3. I tried to tell the police but they weren't interested so I managed to get hold of the AAIB inspector and told him.
Sure enough they eventually found a third body some distance from the helicopter. They guessed she'd realised there was a problem and had jumped out before impact.
I had a helicopter depart from Wycombe and the ATCO recorded 3 pob. When it crashed, the police recorded pob as 2. I double checked with Wycombe and they were adamant they had booked out with 3. I tried to tell the police but they weren't interested so I managed to get hold of the AAIB inspector and told him.
Sure enough they eventually found a third body some distance from the helicopter. They guessed she'd realised there was a problem and had jumped out before impact.
Exactly. It's not how many are on board that matters, it is how many below that can harmed that counts.
Even a single seat Cessna into a football stadium would be catastophic. As an example (not withstanding timing) weren't Chelsea at home that day? A potential audience circa 40,000 people in a relatively confined area just a few miles east of LHR.
Did this aircraft actually fly over LHR at 7000' whence it made the sharp turn onto north? Somebody either instructed it to go that way or it did so of its own accord. Does anyone know which it was?
Even a single seat Cessna into a football stadium would be catastophic. As an example (not withstanding timing) weren't Chelsea at home that day? A potential audience circa 40,000 people in a relatively confined area just a few miles east of LHR.
Did this aircraft actually fly over LHR at 7000' whence it made the sharp turn onto north? Somebody either instructed it to go that way or it did so of its own accord. Does anyone know which it was?
I assume therefore that the intercept took place north of Oxford, perhaps around Banbury, and the Dash 8 was "guided" around London (broadly following the M25 clockwise) in order to avoid flying over the city center.
Didn't know about the connection with Denis (he only died a few years ago).
I worked with a student of Denis (she and I were both FISOs) when I was at Fairoaks but only met him once.
The sonic boom from the Typhoons was heard over Northamptonshire and parts of Oxfordshire, but neither we (near Benson) nor my daughter's family (near Abingdon) heard it. The Dash 8 began its descent from FL250 around Kidlington. It then routed in continual descent to Reading, passing overhead there at FL150, then turned east still descending, and turned north at Heathrow levelling at FL70 in the turn. The aircraft then routed north towards Luton before turning east towards Stansted, all at FL70. All these data come from the replay function on ADSB Exchange.
I assume therefore that the intercept took place north of Oxford, perhaps around Banbury, and the Dash 8 was "guided" around London (broadly following the M25 clockwise) in order to avoid flying over the city center.
I assume therefore that the intercept took place north of Oxford, perhaps around Banbury, and the Dash 8 was "guided" around London (broadly following the M25 clockwise) in order to avoid flying over the city center.
First reports on social media regarding a "boom" were at around 12:10 Usually a pretty good time stamp with the "WTF was that bang I just heard" etc. . At that time the 7600 was just about over Banbury. Intercept then needs to lose a lot of speed to join the Dash 8, get its attention, go through the procedures before doing the escort to Stansted. Intercept was probably a fair bit south of Banbury and now at Dash 8 speed.
I know when the Typhoons launched... The guys did good.
Reportedly the aircraft had been stored since March 2019 and first flew recently on 1st March 2023. As I write it's still on the ground at STN.
Last edited by Expressflight; 7th Mar 2023 at 10:16. Reason: additional info
So the pilot(s) could have just been ferry pilots unfamiliar with the on board equipment fit just as I suggested earlier at #32.
More than that at Twickenham, a lot closer to LHR.
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Not a very good fit as a “Ferry Pilot” if he has never operated in European airspace and can’t RFM. Joke. Any chance the notorious Ferry Pilot “Robert Weaver” has resurfaced? Joke Over
Last edited by albatross; 7th Mar 2023 at 19:27.