BBC at Shoreham EGKA
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Sussex
BBC at Shoreham EGKA
Have just seen a BBC SNG truck with reporter doing piece to camera. I was parked a little way away but heard frequent references to the Border Agency, increasing security, the olympics and missiles on roofs.
He did make a big issue out of the fact that somebody landed and took off again from Shoreham without having his passport checked (wave passport borrowed from cameraman for dramatic effect).
Has anything actually happened to prompt this or is it just a case of the media going after GA again?
He did make a big issue out of the fact that somebody landed and took off again from Shoreham without having his passport checked (wave passport borrowed from cameraman for dramatic effect).
Has anything actually happened to prompt this or is it just a case of the media going after GA again?
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
From: East sussex
The report has been featured on the BBC Radio 5 Live most of the day. It's basically about how he left the UK flew to Calais airport and flew back again without showing a passport nor any security checks. Apart from ATC asking on the return how may people were on-board the a/c.
Last edited by dazdaz1; 24th July 2012 at 13:34.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Sussex
Thanks, That will be a quiet news day then. Have been at work all day on the airfield so haven't kept up with the news. This chap standing on a box did seem to be trying to dramatise the business somewhat. About par for the course I fear.
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 121
Likes: 0
From: Somewhere under the rainbow
As an ex immigration officer and PPL holder flying out of Headcorn, it is disappointing that the BBC have done this.It is nigh on impossible to staff every airport in the country with an immigration/customs presence - the powers that be are too busy trying to staff the major airports as it is. Several weeks ago, we had four illegals brought into Headcorn on a Saturday morning from Belgium. Thanks to the vigilance of our ATC, the illegals were spotted getting out of the plane and walking out of the airfield. The owner of the airfield managed to get the illegals to come back to the airfield long before the police and and UKBA turned up. I don't mind UKBA being taken to task but the knock-on effect on the cross channel movement of GA traffic which is easy enough at the moment could be made a lot harder. Already UKBA senior officials are taking more than a passing interest in movements in and out of Headcorn. On this occasion the least the pilot should have done was to take the passenger(reporter) to ATC to show his passport.
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 121
Likes: 0
From: Somewhere under the rainbow
Think of how many Border Agency staff that would free up.
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,460
Likes: 0
It is so much easier to bring in immigrants on a boat...
I wonder what the idiot pilot who did this stupid stunt was thinking... Another idiot pilot did something similar via Bournemouth about a year ago, and got similar media coverage.
I wonder what the idiot pilot who did this stupid stunt was thinking... Another idiot pilot did something similar via Bournemouth about a year ago, and got similar media coverage.
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 3,077
Likes: 1
From: Oop North, UK
Thanks to the vigilance of our ATC, the illegals were spotted getting out of the plane and walking out of the airfield.
Oh, silly me, we are talking news media, positive news is not worth covering!
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,035
Likes: 0
From: Plumpton Green
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 366
Likes: 10
From: Below transition level
This is such a non-story, it doesn't even merit comment.
What the hell does he propose as a solution. Full customs and immigration at every grass strip. Immigration at every cove around these islands were it is possible to dock and offload a ship.
Simply nonsense.
What the hell does he propose as a solution. Full customs and immigration at every grass strip. Immigration at every cove around these islands were it is possible to dock and offload a ship.
Simply nonsense.
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
From: Ballywalter
I used to fly out of EG## and for as long as I can remember, if we were making international flights, with 24 hours notice, nothing was checked. We did not even get a visit from customs & excise, borders agency or special branch. It really was a non event. I no longer fly from that airfield (moved away) so cannot say if this is still the case, though I suspect it still is.
Last edited by Ballywalter Flyer; 25th July 2012 at 12:31.
Joined: Jan 1999
Posts: 6,209
Likes: 2
From: north of barlu
More cheap BBC rubbish
One of the things about the GA community is that it tends to keep its house in order, most of us would report any ileagal activity to the authoritys and that is why the authoritys have an uncanny ability to show up when they are needed.
In this situation the rules that are in place are appropriate for the situation, any more regulation would be expensive to the tax payer and would not yeald any better results.
As per usual the BBC are only after a cheap story and dont want the facts to get in the way of this.
All this shows me is that the BBC are employing lazy third rate people and it is typical of the media in general...........A buch of people who have power but no resonsability for their actions.
In this situation the rules that are in place are appropriate for the situation, any more regulation would be expensive to the tax payer and would not yeald any better results.
As per usual the BBC are only after a cheap story and dont want the facts to get in the way of this.
All this shows me is that the BBC are employing lazy third rate people and it is typical of the media in general...........A buch of people who have power but no resonsability for their actions.
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,460
Likes: 0
The pilot is an idiot because he did an illegal flight and then allowed the BBC to brag about it.
The BBC reporter is on record there saying they paid for his fuel. That is almost certainly a breach of the PPL cost sharing rules. Even if the reporter was the only passenger, the fuel must have come to more than 50% of the direct costs.
The story itself is bollox because you can enter or leave the UK in a boat, with no checks
The impact on immigration is orders of magnitude below "negligible". This is how light aviation has been for decades.
The terrorism threat is nonsense because the only way to stop the theoretical risk is to ban all aviation.
The BBC reporter is on record there saying they paid for his fuel. That is almost certainly a breach of the PPL cost sharing rules. Even if the reporter was the only passenger, the fuel must have come to more than 50% of the direct costs.
The story itself is bollox because you can enter or leave the UK in a boat, with no checks
The impact on immigration is orders of magnitude below "negligible". This is how light aviation has been for decades.The terrorism threat is nonsense because the only way to stop the theoretical risk is to ban all aviation.
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,524
Likes: 1
From: United Kingdom
The pilot is an idiot because he did an illegal flight
What evidence do you have that the flight was illegal, bearing in mind that neither hearsay nor presumption is admissible as evidence?
Last edited by BillieBob; 25th July 2012 at 22:16.
