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A POLICE CHIEF in charge of the investigation of a drone disruption at London’s Gatwick Airport that shut down the busy airport just days before Christmas says he’s sure there was a drone disrupting flights.
Sussex Police Chief Giles York told BBC Radio 4′s Today show that the investigation had been a “very thorough response” to an “unprecedented and challenging event”.
He said that police had searched up to 26 potential launch sites near the airport but do not believe they have yet found the drone that flew near the runway on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 December.
I do not think we have found the drone responsible for this at this time.
He said that the police had received 115 reports of sightings of a drone in the area, and they were cross referencing this information: “We’re getting closer to being able to identify the model”.
York added he is “absolutely certain that there was a drone flying throughout the period that the airport was closed.”
He made this assertion after he was asked whether false sightings closed the airport on the Friday after the first sighting:
“I’m absolutely certain that the presence of the drone was there… We have been able to corroborate 115 reports, 92 of them are from credible people that we’ve been able to confirm.
“Because sometimes, you will have been in an airport, being able to judge pairs of lights, moving at a distance whatever it is…
One of the other things is we would have launched our own Sussex police drones at the time with a view to investigate, with a view to engage, so there could be some level of confusion there as well.
The airport’s closure led to more than 100,000 people being stranded or delayed in the run up to Christmas.
No one has been found responsible, and York says he is “sorry” about the arrest of two people suspected of involvement who were subsequently cleared.
- with reporting from AP.
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Brought to you by the people who think they can manage a 300mile border with technology….
@Tricia Nolan:
Nice one
These “Monty Python” style PR statements are a disaster. You can just imagine John Cleese in police uniform responding to a reporter.
“Drones, did you say drones. Sorry I’m afraid you will have to spell that.”
“Oh DRONES well why didn’t you just say that in the first place!”
“Yes I can confirm there were no drones, over Gatwick, absolutely none whatsoever…except of course for our own drones which were flying around looking for a drone which we haven’t confirmed existed yet. Very good, thank you will there be any more questions?”
“What do you mean that makes us look incompetent? Oh I’m sorry did you say drones ha ha I thought you said phones – you see you said drones but I heard phones – frightfully silly of me please excuse me. There were no phones flying over Gatwick haw haw”
@Sean: Phones Drones Or Arseholes If you could contain your wind for a few days maybe when you Fart you could be a Phone or a Drone Or maybe just be an As…..
Oh Jeasus I howled at this….
My table cloth is covered in coffee.
It reads like something from Waterford Whispers.
“The drone is hatless, I repeat, hatless”
I’m not saying it was UFOs….but it was UFOs
@Padraig: by definition, it was a UFO, it’s still unidentified
It’d be funny if it didn’t cause such disruption to so many people. It does expose they vulnerability of air travel to drones though.
It’s like ufo’s. Everyone’s seen them but no one got a clear picture or video
This article doesn’t point towards any incompetence on the part of the police, it is a click bait headline taken out of context. They said they may have been police drones as they were investigating with them. Don’t really get people’s comments either it’s like they didn’t even read the article.
@David Daly: Seems that most of the comments are based on the headline only.
Love it.
Had to be the russians
oh dear, what would happen if they tripped over their own shoelaces? It seems like they are afraid of their shadow. The Brexit sh*t show must’ve gone to their heads and rendered them brainless.
This story keeps just droning on and on
have your say