Helicopter Comes Under Fire ... from Golf Balls
Guest
Posts: n/a
Helicopter Comes Under Fire ... from Golf Balls
From today's Scotsman
Helicopter under golf ball attack
Louise Hosie
A GRANDFATHER yesterday promised to step up his campaign to reduce noise levels at a heliport and was unrepentant after an impromptu attempt to silence a helicopter by bombarding it with golf balls landed him in court.
Brian Rae, 58, grabbed his clubs, walked into the front garden next to the Scotia Helicopters site in Aberdeen - the world’s busiest commercial heliport - and began firing balls at a craft that had destroyed his peaceful Sunday morning.
Formerly a keen golfer, Mr Rae had been spurred to pick up his clubs for the first time since 1983 after the pilot of the helicopter woke him up at 5am and then ruined his attempts to play in the garden with his grandchildren by performing training manoeuvres overhead.
Last week, Aberdeen Sheriff Douglas Cusine admonished Mr Rae on a charge of acting recklessly.
Speaking from his home yesterday, he said: "One Sunday in April, I was woken up really early by the noise of the helicopter engines.
"It is not unusual for the racket to wake me up, but this time a helicopter had landed and there was no-one in it. The engine had been running for ages. The noise kept going round and round in my head, and I just lost it."
He added: "Eventually the pilot of the helicopter came over to inform me he was calling the police and they turned up at the
front door that day.
"They told me they were charging me with reckless behaviour. I didn’t say anything to them and I certainly didn’t apologise - why should I?"
He added: "Fortunately, the sheriff had a sympathetic ear, but the noise is still the same."
Initially, Mr Rae was charged with hitting a taxiing chopper, but this was amended to hitting three balls into the Scotia Helicopters site.
At Aberdeen Sheriff Court last Thursday, Mr Rae’s defence agent, Peter Shepherd, told Sheriff Cusine that the accused had made a number of complaints to Aberdeen airport.
The oil worker yesterday promised to step up his campaign to reduce noise levels.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Scotia Helicopters said they were co-operating with residents in the area and would be addressing their concerns.
Louise Hosie
A GRANDFATHER yesterday promised to step up his campaign to reduce noise levels at a heliport and was unrepentant after an impromptu attempt to silence a helicopter by bombarding it with golf balls landed him in court.
Brian Rae, 58, grabbed his clubs, walked into the front garden next to the Scotia Helicopters site in Aberdeen - the world’s busiest commercial heliport - and began firing balls at a craft that had destroyed his peaceful Sunday morning.
Formerly a keen golfer, Mr Rae had been spurred to pick up his clubs for the first time since 1983 after the pilot of the helicopter woke him up at 5am and then ruined his attempts to play in the garden with his grandchildren by performing training manoeuvres overhead.
Last week, Aberdeen Sheriff Douglas Cusine admonished Mr Rae on a charge of acting recklessly.
Speaking from his home yesterday, he said: "One Sunday in April, I was woken up really early by the noise of the helicopter engines.
"It is not unusual for the racket to wake me up, but this time a helicopter had landed and there was no-one in it. The engine had been running for ages. The noise kept going round and round in my head, and I just lost it."
He added: "Eventually the pilot of the helicopter came over to inform me he was calling the police and they turned up at the
front door that day.
"They told me they were charging me with reckless behaviour. I didn’t say anything to them and I certainly didn’t apologise - why should I?"
He added: "Fortunately, the sheriff had a sympathetic ear, but the noise is still the same."
Initially, Mr Rae was charged with hitting a taxiing chopper, but this was amended to hitting three balls into the Scotia Helicopters site.
At Aberdeen Sheriff Court last Thursday, Mr Rae’s defence agent, Peter Shepherd, told Sheriff Cusine that the accused had made a number of complaints to Aberdeen airport.
The oil worker yesterday promised to step up his campaign to reduce noise levels.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Scotia Helicopters said they were co-operating with residents in the area and would be addressing their concerns.
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 111
Likes: 0
From: UK
What Mr Rae neglected to say or the paper decided not to publish is the fact that a group comprising Scotia, BAA Aberdeen and NATS Aberdeen (myself included) have been working very hard to amend our procedures to make life quieter for the residents of Cordyce View. The residents we meet with have admitted there has been improvement over recent months and the issue should go away altogether when Scotia move to the other side of the airport in a few months.
If he's promising to step up his campaign I wonder what will be next?
If he's promising to step up his campaign I wonder what will be next?
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 577
Likes: 0
From: here to eternity
a) I don't believe for one moment that a helo was left engines running, unoccupied.
b) The oil business has brought a lot of money into Aberdeen. The helos service the oil industry, and so put money in this idiot's pocket.
Ergo, no sympathy whatsoever with this NIMBY.
b) The oil business has brought a lot of money into Aberdeen. The helos service the oil industry, and so put money in this idiot's pocket.
Ergo, no sympathy whatsoever with this NIMBY.
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
From: London
The Ironic thing about this clown, is that he is described in Saturdays Evening Express (Aberdeen's finest) as a 58 year old.......errrrrrr.......ummmmmmmm........yup you guessed it OIL WORKER !!!
Wa*ker !
TG
----------------------------------------
Tha't the way its goin' down........baby
Wa*ker !
TG
----------------------------------------
Tha't the way its goin' down........baby
