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The incidents involved the Royal Helicopter, photographed here at Houghton Hall. Photo: Ian Burt
Archant © 2013
Reports reveal that a helicopter carrying the Duchess of Cornwall has been involved in two near misses.
The Duchess of Cornwall at the Flower Show before taking the plane for the flight back to Gloucestershire Image: Ian BurtThe Royal Flight Sikorsky S76 took the Duchess home to Gloucestershire after the Sandringham Flower Show last year, when both incidents occurred.
It fell within 200 feet of a De Havilland aircraft carrying paratroopers, which had just taken off from a Chatteris aerodrome, while it was conducting a pre-arranged flight plan south of Wisbech on July 12 around 12:20 pm
Prince Charles was not on board because he was staying in Norfolk after attending the show with his wife.
A report released by the United Kingdom Airprox Board indicates that an air traffic controller at RAF Marham "perceived the seriousness of the incident as being high." The royal pilot described the risk as "medium".
The palace officials refused to comment. But one source said: "Nobody was in danger."
The report says protected low-level corridors are declared when the Royals fly.
"Pilots of civil aircraft operating near the published route should remain vigilant and remain sufficiently separated from the Royal helicopter."
The De Havilland pilot should have contacted RAF Lakenheath's air traffic controllers at the time of his takeoff, but the report states that he did not do so and that they "tried to Many times "to contact him when they realized that the devices were heading one towards the other.
A RAF controller, Marham, told a Lakenheath counterpart: "Well, if you can keep trying to call him because he is about to burst the bubble, he is at less than five miles and less than 300 meters unless coordination. "
The de Havilland pilot responded after receiving a "short-term conflict alert". Both aircraft took evasive action.
The members of the Airprox board of directors concluded that the regulations governing separation zones around Royal flights "introduced more ambiguity and complexity than clarity". They recommend that the rules be reviewed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
During the same flight, the Royal Helicopter had to take avoidance measures to avoid a glider as it approached the home of the Duchess at Highgrove House.
An airport report indicates that the Sikorsky pilot estimated that the risk of a collision was average. The glider pilot could not be found.
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