Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Something, possibly

Discuss all things 'aviation' that do not fit into a more appropriate forum
Post Reply
User avatar
tankbuster
Posts: 2316
Joined: Sun 17 Jul 2011, 5:04 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by tankbuster »

Suspects. No longer suspects. I expect they will be a bit hacked off about having their names all over the papers. Wonder if we will find out why they were considered in the first place.
Trevor C
recent and not so recent pictures here https://trevorc28a.wixsite.com/trevspics

User avatar
Orion
Posts: 1202
Joined: Wed 22 Jul 2009, 9:34 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by Orion »

McG wrote:In years past, if what is being reported in this article is true, ministerial heads would have rolled. With this shambles of an incompetent government, highly unlikely.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... twick.html
The problem here is the source; this report hasn't been confirmed by any other media outlet.

Shooting down one of these things over an airport brings other problems including the one of locating and dealing with the debris

frank
Posts: 1244
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 5:16 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by frank »

tankbuster wrote:Suspects. No longer suspects. I expect they will be a bit hacked off about having their names all over the papers. Wonder if we will find out why they were considered in the first place.


Their profile just didnt gel with what we saw happening - they appeared to be amatuer droners at best. This was a pre-planned professional job.
As I type I note we have Gavin out in the Ukraine.

minnie the moocher
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri 20 Jan 2017, 7:31 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by minnie the moocher »

frank wrote:
Their profile just didnt gel with what we saw happening - they appeared to be amatuer droners at best. This was a pre-planned professional job.
As I type I note we have Gavin out in the Ukraine.

would tend to agree, I am a little surprised nobody has claimed responsibility yet - unless there is still more to come. Really hoping not

McG
Posts: 996
Joined: Wed 03 Sep 2008, 11:26 am
Contact:

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by McG »

Orion wrote:
McG wrote:In years past, if what is being reported in this article is true, ministerial heads would have rolled. With this shambles of an incompetent government, highly unlikely.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... twick.html
The problem here is the source; this report hasn't been confirmed by any other media outlet.

Shooting down one of these things over an airport brings other problems including the one of locating and dealing with the debris


It was more the articles insinuation that the MOD offered specialist personnel and equipment on the Wednesday night and this was refused by both the DoT and the Home Office.

User avatar
pbeardmore
Posts: 4925
Joined: Thu 06 Nov 2008, 9:16 am

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by pbeardmore »

I spent some time on the guys facebook page last night and he just looked like a "salt of the earth" type of guy if that makes sense. The fact his boss went on the record and defended him I think speaks alot (we would all appreciate a boss like that under the same circumstances) and it really undermined the police case very quickly, (one phone call to the boss by the police would have been useful?)

as in terror cases, often the Police will make an arrest and then release later with no charge and you do wonder if this is done just to get the media off their backs for 48 hours and give the impression that they are making progress and in control of the situation.

In this case, it shows how desperate the Police were/are and they have wasted more resoures investigating this couple. Also, were the names leaked or officially given out?
“The best computer is a man, and it’s the only one that can be mass-produced by unskilled labour.”

User avatar
Dan O'Hagan
Posts: 2279
Joined: Wed 13 Apr 2016, 6:05 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by Dan O'Hagan »

I hope Piers Morgan and the Daily Mail’s pockets are deep. This pair could, and should, take them to the cleaners.

As suggested above, the arrest looks like an attempt to placate the baying media, and the release further evidence of the bumbling, Keystone Cops conduct of the police over this whole episode.

Alanko
Posts: 560
Joined: Fri 24 Jul 2015, 11:24 am

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by Alanko »

I feel sorry for the couple, and I hope they consider legal action. The guy looked like an RC 'scaler' with, among other things, a nice looking P-51 model. Everything from their social status to their ages, and to their physical appearance, has been under the knife on social media. A lot of folk have combed through the guy's Facebook account, sniffing for clues.

Character assassination, trial by media, and seriously "Well, there's no need for that" chavvy. We're returning to dark ages justice.

User avatar
pbeardmore
Posts: 4925
Joined: Thu 06 Nov 2008, 9:16 am

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by pbeardmore »

Just heard a Police spokesman on the radio defending the arrests, saying it was in response to intel received from a member of the public. You would hope that any intel received from the public would be, in some way, verified/tested before arrests and a full house search.

A visit to the house as part of "routine enquiries" (they both fully co-operated according to the Police) combined with a visit to the guy's boss would have resulted in the same conclusion but with none of the media frenzy.
“The best computer is a man, and it’s the only one that can be mass-produced by unskilled labour.”

User avatar
T_J
Posts: 2867
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 6:57 pm
Location: Lincs

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by T_J »

A damaged drone was found at Gatwick yesterday.

Damaged drone found at Gatwick Airport as bosses offer £50,000 reward Sussex Police Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said in an interview on Sky News: "I can say yesterday we recovered a damaged drone close to the perimeter of Gatwick Airport... and we will be doing everything we can with regards to progressing a forensic examination of that drone. "That's something that will be fast-tracked and expedited."


https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/b ... k-13771520

McG
Posts: 996
Joined: Wed 03 Sep 2008, 11:26 am
Contact:

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by McG »

pbeardmore wrote:Just heard a Police spokesman on the radio defending the arrests, saying it was in response to intel received from a member of the public. You would hope that any intel received from the public would be, in some way, verified/tested before arrests and a full house search.



Intel received - probably not long after Lord Ashcroft put up a £10K reward.

Stagger2
Posts: 1940
Joined: Thu 16 Jun 2011, 8:46 am

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by Stagger2 »

Personally, I think that 'profiling' the perpetrator & given that no 'payload' was carried, no financial demands, no claims by anti-anything organisations, no cause / topic promotion? reasonably points to a 'Lone Worm' action !Possibly an Eco-bandit making a gesture of disapproval at the increased amount of air-travel around Christmas Getaways that he/she considers to cause further harm to the atmosphere? In some respects, such a cause may be worthy, but not at immediate risk to human-life!
After all, Christmas is just a point in time & it will happen next year. If somebody tries this little ruse when I'm about to fly down to the Tiger Meet 2019, I will personally hunt them down to administer immediate & health detrimental repercussions. A serious situation, as there's ONLY one TM-19!! :whistle:

User avatar
T_J
Posts: 2867
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 6:57 pm
Location: Lincs

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by T_J »

pbeardmore wrote:Just heard a Police spokesman on the radio defending the arrests, saying it was in response to intel received from a member of the public.


Police spokesman also repeated that just now on Sky News.

More than likely a disgruntled neighbour that reported them to the Police? Allegedly Paul Gait used to fly his drones in the cul-de-sac where he lives and he is reported to have had a dispute with a neighbour over an overgrown hedge. Some neighbours were complaining about the noise. Some of the petrol-powered radio controlled helos can be quite noisy.

A neighbour said: “He flies models. He has tons of them. One neighbour got a bit annoyed but most people were all right with it.

“He obviously built them up and tested them out. Some of the helicopters were big. He had loads and they were all kept in his garage.”

Ludmilla Adomako, 69, who also lives nearby, added: “The police asked me if I knew the couple at the house and if I’d seen anything suspicious.

“I asked if it was to do with the drones and they said yes. He has a drone. I saw him flying it once last year from his front garden.”



Speaking to MailOnline Ludmila Adomako, 69, a former Home Office worker and neighbour of the suspects, said: 'I used to see Paul flying a small drone around the cul-de-sac from his driveway.

Another neighbour, who wished not to be named, said: 'They don't seem the type to do this, they're down to earth. He's a builder and she works somewhere six days a week.

'Paul likes his gadgets, he only ever used his drone in the street - you could hear all that buzzing sound. I haven't seen them use it recently but its winter so it's dark.


Mr Gait is also said to have fallen out with his next door neighbour over a boundary issue.

A friend of his told MailOnline: 'Paul told me that his neighbour's hedge was quite overgrown and that he was having difficulty parking his van.

'He said that he'd asked the neighbour if he could trim the hedge back slightly but he refused and so they didn't speak again after that.


From following links

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... rport.html

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8046924/g ... ife-flier/

McG
Posts: 996
Joined: Wed 03 Sep 2008, 11:26 am
Contact:

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by McG »


User avatar
skyhigh
Posts: 111
Joined: Tue 30 Jun 2009, 7:36 pm
Location: UK

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by skyhigh »

@McG Thanks for posting :-)

Spiny Norman
Posts: 3520
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 10:17 am

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by Spiny Norman »

It’s reaching levels of farce Brian Rix would reject as unbelievable.

User avatar
maltwoser
Posts: 449
Joined: Mon 03 Nov 2008, 9:51 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by maltwoser »

It’s reaching levels of farce Brian Rix would reject as unbelievable.


One for the teenagers there :lol:

minnie the moocher
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri 20 Jan 2017, 7:31 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by minnie the moocher »

McG wrote:Gatwitck : The Phantom Drone

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1 ... 40260?s=21

so the damaged drone they had supposedly found and were processing as quickly as possible ? that doesn't exist either? I am sure all those who got up close and personal with the floor in departures and those that didn't make their flights at all at Gatwick will be absolutely chuffed to bits to hear that. And now it looks like Brum is down too with an atc problem

Ken Shabby
Posts: 765
Joined: Mon 29 Sep 2008, 12:23 pm
Location: Romford, Essex
Contact:

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by Ken Shabby »

McG wrote:Gatwitck : The Phantom Drone

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1 ... 40260?s=21


Could it have been .... "The Phantom Drone Flier of Old Gatwick Town"?

I do find this worrying. Santa Claus, sleigh, reindeer and all are due to be flying about within 24 hours. Even thought Santa doesn't exist, will we be shutting all the UK's airports just in case he does and may present a danger to aircraft?
Ken

minnie the moocher
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri 20 Jan 2017, 7:31 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by minnie the moocher »

Ken Shabby wrote:I do find this worrying. Santa Claus, sleigh, reindeer and all are due to be flying about within 24 hours. Even thought Santa doesn't exist, will we be shutting all the UK's airports just in case he does and may present a danger to aircraft?

You have cracked it - it was Santa all along, making sure everybody was at home so he could deliver presents to the right people at the right addresses :clap:

FarnboroJohn
Posts: 3038
Joined: Tue 28 Aug 2012, 6:57 pm

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by FarnboroJohn »

Ken Shabby wrote:
McG wrote:Gatwitck : The Phantom Drone

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1 ... 40260?s=21


Could it have been .... "The Phantom Drone Flier of Old Gatwick Town"?

I do find this worrying. Santa Claus, sleigh, reindeer and all are due to be flying about within 24 hours. Even thought Santa doesn't exist, will we be shutting all the UK's airports just in case he does and may present a danger to aircraft?


You should worry. Researchers have discovered that reindeer are red/green colour-blind and can't easily perceive orange. The BBC regards the big problem as being that reindeer won't be able to see carrots left out for them. This is plainly rubbish, a black-and-white photo of a carrot on a table leaves the carrot easily seen (also reindeer have a sense of smell).

However, red/green colour blindness means reindeer cannot be night rated so can't fly at night legally. Imagine what will happen if an illegal flight goes near a major UK airport on Christmas Eve......

Ken Shabby
Posts: 765
Joined: Mon 29 Sep 2008, 12:23 pm
Location: Romford, Essex
Contact:

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by Ken Shabby »

FarnboroJohn wrote:
Ken Shabby wrote:
McG wrote:Gatwitck : The Phantom Drone

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1 ... 40260?s=21


You should worry. Researchers have discovered that reindeer are red/green colour-blind and can't easily perceive orange. The BBC regards the big problem as being that reindeer won't be able to see carrots left out for them. This is plainly rubbish, a black-and-white photo of a carrot on a table leaves the carrot easily seen (also reindeer have a sense of smell).

However, red/green colour blindness means reindeer cannot be night rated so can't fly at night legally. Imagine what will happen if an illegal flight goes near a major UK airport on Christmas Eve......


The colour blindness issue has been known for sometime and I believe the CAA will issue an exemption for the reindeer when they fly in UK airspace. This depends, of course, if it can be proven whether they, or Santa, actually exist. In previous years, Santa and reindeer sightings have been reported to the Police but none have been corroborated by film or photographic evidence. The Police continue to keep an "open mind" on the matter and last year arrested a man they believed to be Santa. The man was later released without charge when it emerged he was just putting his Christmas decorations up.
Ken

106500
Posts: 504
Joined: Sun 27 May 2012, 9:14 am

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by 106500 »

Dan O'Hagan wrote:I hope Piers Morgan and the Daily Mail’s pockets are deep. This pair could, and should, take them to the cleaners.

As suggested above, the arrest looks like an attempt to placate the baying media, and the release further evidence of the bumbling, Keystone Cops conduct of the police over this whole episode.


Totally agree - how anyone might defend the press in these circumstances is beyond me. e.g the Mail on Sunday headline screamed "are these the morons who ruined Christmas" alongside their photo. I know what I'd do!

User avatar
skyhigh
Posts: 111
Joined: Tue 30 Jun 2009, 7:36 pm
Location: UK

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by skyhigh »

minnie the moocher wrote:
McG wrote:Gatwitck : The Phantom Drone

https://twitter.com/tompugh212/status/1 ... 40260?s=21

so the damaged drone they had supposedly found and were processing as quickly as possible ? that doesn't exist either? I am sure all those who got up close and personal with the floor in departures and those that didn't make their flights at all at Gatwick will be absolutely chuffed to bits to hear that. And now it looks like Brum is down too with an atc problem


Would be nice to see some photographic evidence, as of now the word “supposedly” sums up the event perfectly.

User avatar
pbeardmore
Posts: 4925
Joined: Thu 06 Nov 2008, 9:16 am

Re: Gatwick Airport Closed Due to Drones

Post by pbeardmore »

I wonder if it's a "mass hysteria" scenario where the public are re-enforcing the rumours with their own sightings (false) combined with a "zero risk" culture within the airport management. It is remarkable that the police seem to have zero evidence other than human sightings. (the same as alien spaceships around Area 51!).

It also puts a new light on the arrests as, to arrest someone for an offence, you have to have an offence in the first place.
Last edited by pbeardmore on Mon 24 Dec 2018, 12:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“The best computer is a man, and it’s the only one that can be mass-produced by unskilled labour.”

Post Reply