Revealed: drone sighting halts flying at RAF base

RAF Benson was forced to suspend its flying operations because of a drone in the vicinity of its runway, it has been revealed.

The base was closed for about an hour during the incident, which happened on March 29.

The news was revealed by Wing Commander Brad Hewitt, the officer commanding 230 squadron, at Benson’s annual parish meeting.

He said: “Recently we had an incident of drone flying that shut our operations for a short period of time.

“If you do see anybody trying to use a drone and they don’t have permission please report that to us.”

Wg Cdr Hewitt said that while the drones were small compared to the helicopters on the base they could cause a lot of damage when a heliccopter’s rotor blades were moving at the speed of sound.

He said drones had cameras attached to them and the owners might try to take a “few snaps” with the temporary return of the Queen’s Flight to the base.

In a statement, RAF Benson said: “We cannot give details of our reactions to a drone sighting near our airfield as this could compromise our security.

“However, we can advise that there has been at least one instance when, for air safety, our airfield has been temporarily closed for a short period following a drone sighting close to our runway.

“The safety of our crews and the local community is paramount and we will not take unnecessary risks.

“New regulations came into force in March that prohibit the flying of drones within 5km of an airport or runway, which includes RAF
Benson.

“It is imperative that anyone flying a drone follows these regulations in order to minimise the air safety risks.

“RAF Benson aircraft can and do operate at low level so, while there are regulations regarding the maximum height at which a drone can fly, there is still a very real danger posed to our aircraft and crews by drone operations near our airfield.” Last month, the base asked the parish council for permission to erect “no drone zone” signs in areas that are likely to be used for drone flying, notably the Sunnyside recreation ground.

The new regulations were brought in after disruption at Gatwick airport in December caused by drone sightings near the runway.

The airport was closed for more than a day, which caused chaos for travellers as it affected more than 1,000 flights and about 140,000 passengers.

It is now illegal to fly a drone within 5km of an airport instead of 1km previously.

The Government has said it wants police to have new stop and search powers to tackle misuse.

These will be included in the Drones Bill and would also allow police to access electronic data stored on a drone.

The Queen’s Flight is returning to RAF Benson this month for the first time in almost 25 years and will remain until October.

The short relocation of 32 (The Royal) Squadron is necessary due to runway resurfacing work taking place at RAF Northolt in West London, where it is usually based.

Station engagement officer Nikki Gasan told the meeting that the arrival of the Queen’s Flight would mean about 100 more people on the base. Engineers working on the aircraft would stay at RAF Benson during the week and return home at
weekends.

Mrs Gasan also said that the base hadn’t been forced to shoot any red kites due to a risk of collision with an aircraft.

In 2014, it warned this might happen following four collisions involving birds.

It said: “We have numerous measures in place to deter birds from our airfield to maintain air safety and we have been given a licence to cull a small number of red kites per year if required.

“However, we would only use this as an absolute last resort and have not done so yet.

“In order to help us maintain the safety of our aircraft and crews, and in accordance with guidance issued by Natural England and the RSPB, we ask that those living near to the airfield do not feed the red kites.”