This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/11/real-flying-squad-mets-helicopter-crews
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| The real flying squad: on patrol with London's chopper coppers | The real flying squad: on patrol with London's chopper coppers |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| There's a sign on the main gate of the Metropolitan police air support unit in Lippitts Hill reminding drivers to slow down for passing horses. It's that kind of place: verdant and ghostly quiet, on the edge of Epping Forest in Essex. The facility was once a US military base, and later a prisoner of war camp; the old barracks are now listed and, some say, haunted. | There's a sign on the main gate of the Metropolitan police air support unit in Lippitts Hill reminding drivers to slow down for passing horses. It's that kind of place: verdant and ghostly quiet, on the edge of Epping Forest in Essex. The facility was once a US military base, and later a prisoner of war camp; the old barracks are now listed and, some say, haunted. |
| My eyes, however, are trained on the sky, which has been heavy with cloud all day. If I'm going to go up in a helicopter, I'd prefer that conditions were favourable. | |
| "I think it's clearing up," I say, pointing to a patch of blue. | "I think it's clearing up," I say, pointing to a patch of blue. |
| "Sixty per cent chance of rain," says the gate guard, who appears to enjoy being the bearer of bad news. | "Sixty per cent chance of rain," says the gate guard, who appears to enjoy being the bearer of bad news. |
| PC Tony Donnelly, dressed in his flying onesie, comes to find us at the gate. He is tall and softly spoken, with closely cropped hair and rather determined eyes. He offers us a tour of the facilities, which are extensive but sparsely populated. In the canteen, a giant television is playing to an empty room. Outside, two of the Met's three helicopters stand idle on the tarmac; the third is undergoing routine maintenance, in line with the regular rotation. In special circumstances – the Olympics, say – all three choppers can be available, but this takes months of planning. Even that level of coverage doesn't bear comparison with a city such as Los Angeles, Donnelly tells me, where four helicopters are airborne at all times. | PC Tony Donnelly, dressed in his flying onesie, comes to find us at the gate. He is tall and softly spoken, with closely cropped hair and rather determined eyes. He offers us a tour of the facilities, which are extensive but sparsely populated. In the canteen, a giant television is playing to an empty room. Outside, two of the Met's three helicopters stand idle on the tarmac; the third is undergoing routine maintenance, in line with the regular rotation. In special circumstances – the Olympics, say – all three choppers can be available, but this takes months of planning. Even that level of coverage doesn't bear comparison with a city such as Los Angeles, Donnelly tells me, where four helicopters are airborne at all times. |
| In offices housed in one of the barracks, Donnelly shows me on a giant map the huge swath of Greater London that comprises his beat, from Essex in the east to the airports in the west. It is a myth, he tells me, that a car thief can escape a police helicopter by driving down the M4 because the Met aren't allowed to fly over Heathrow. | In offices housed in one of the barracks, Donnelly shows me on a giant map the huge swath of Greater London that comprises his beat, from Essex in the east to the airports in the west. It is a myth, he tells me, that a car thief can escape a police helicopter by driving down the M4 because the Met aren't allowed to fly over Heathrow. |
| "We fly into their airspace all the time," he says. "If we have to, we can even have the airport shut down, which is proper carnage." | "We fly into their airspace all the time," he says. "If we have to, we can even have the airport shut down, which is proper carnage." |
| He asks me where I live. I show him on the map. | He asks me where I live. I show him on the map. |
| "You'll hear us quite a bit, then," he says. He's right: I do. There's nothing quite like the sound of a helicopter squatting over your house in the dead of night, as its spotlight grazes your windows, inducing an uneasy mix of fascination, irritation and paranoia. | "You'll hear us quite a bit, then," he says. He's right: I do. There's nothing quite like the sound of a helicopter squatting over your house in the dead of night, as its spotlight grazes your windows, inducing an uneasy mix of fascination, irritation and paranoia. |
| "That's one of the reasons why we started tweeting," says Donnelly. Set up at the start of 2012, the Twitter account @MPSinthesky now has 86,000 followers (it's worth it for the pictures alone) and the number of complaints the service received about noise and a perceived waste of resources started to drop once people could look online and see that the helicopter that woke them up at 4am had helped to apprehend a burglar, or find a missing child. | "That's one of the reasons why we started tweeting," says Donnelly. Set up at the start of 2012, the Twitter account @MPSinthesky now has 86,000 followers (it's worth it for the pictures alone) and the number of complaints the service received about noise and a perceived waste of resources started to drop once people could look online and see that the helicopter that woke them up at 4am had helped to apprehend a burglar, or find a missing child. |
| Donnelly leads us out to the tarmac. Each twin-engine Eurocopter EC145 costs about £5m kitted out, and roughly £960 an hour to fly around in. Fully fuelled it can stay in the air for three hours, but they don't fly full because they need the flexibility to take on extra weight – in this case a Guardian photographer, her bag of lenses, and me. | Donnelly leads us out to the tarmac. Each twin-engine Eurocopter EC145 costs about £5m kitted out, and roughly £960 an hour to fly around in. Fully fuelled it can stay in the air for three hours, but they don't fly full because they need the flexibility to take on extra weight – in this case a Guardian photographer, her bag of lenses, and me. |
| After being shown the camera turret and the 30m candlepower torch, we are seated in the back for a safety briefing. "Gotta do it," says Donnelly. "At the end of the day, even we're passengers in the eyes of the law." In America, serving police officers are often trained as helicopter pilots, but MPS pilots are all civilians, although the minimum flying time required for the job means that, in practice, they're nearly all ex-military. | After being shown the camera turret and the 30m candlepower torch, we are seated in the back for a safety briefing. "Gotta do it," says Donnelly. "At the end of the day, even we're passengers in the eyes of the law." In America, serving police officers are often trained as helicopter pilots, but MPS pilots are all civilians, although the minimum flying time required for the job means that, in practice, they're nearly all ex-military. |
| As Donnelly explains how the seatbelt and the headset work, the helicopter suddenly levitates. I look out the window and see that we're up on a hydraulic lift, fully two feet off the ground, being towed out of the way so the chopper being serviced can come out of the hangar for ground testing. | As Donnelly explains how the seatbelt and the headset work, the helicopter suddenly levitates. I look out the window and see that we're up on a hydraulic lift, fully two feet off the ground, being towed out of the way so the chopper being serviced can come out of the hangar for ground testing. |
| Having spent all day worrying about going up in a helicopter – I haven't eaten anything, in case – I'm now starting to worry about the prospect of not going up. We're nearly two hours into Donnelly's 12-hour shift, and nothing's happened. Upstairs in the control room there are reports that a man is behaving oddly outside a shopping centre in Lewisham, but it's not deemed a helicopter-worthy emergency. The sky above central London is now a bold blue; the clouds have retreated to the horizon. It seems too nice a day for people to commit crimes. | Having spent all day worrying about going up in a helicopter – I haven't eaten anything, in case – I'm now starting to worry about the prospect of not going up. We're nearly two hours into Donnelly's 12-hour shift, and nothing's happened. Upstairs in the control room there are reports that a man is behaving oddly outside a shopping centre in Lewisham, but it's not deemed a helicopter-worthy emergency. The sky above central London is now a bold blue; the clouds have retreated to the horizon. It seems too nice a day for people to commit crimes. |
| We return to the canteen for a cup of tea, where the TV is still on. "This is what it's like most of the time," says Donnelly, fingers laced round his personalised mug. It's due to get even quieter round here: until now the Met's helicopters have operated independently of the National Police Air Service (NPAS), a centralised body coordinated from West Yorkshire. But a recent, much-protested decision means they are to be folded into the national unit on 1 October. Since NPAS was launched in 2012, there have been complaints from police forces that it is inefficient and overstretched, that the taxpayer has ended up paying more for a less capable service. It would be fair to say that nobody at Lippitts Hill is happy about the news. | We return to the canteen for a cup of tea, where the TV is still on. "This is what it's like most of the time," says Donnelly, fingers laced round his personalised mug. It's due to get even quieter round here: until now the Met's helicopters have operated independently of the National Police Air Service (NPAS), a centralised body coordinated from West Yorkshire. But a recent, much-protested decision means they are to be folded into the national unit on 1 October. Since NPAS was launched in 2012, there have been complaints from police forces that it is inefficient and overstretched, that the taxpayer has ended up paying more for a less capable service. It would be fair to say that nobody at Lippitts Hill is happy about the news. |
| "Put it this way," says Donnelly. "There are 20 PCs here and six of us have applied to leave." Donnelly has signed up for the dog section. | "Put it this way," says Donnelly. "There are 20 PCs here and six of us have applied to leave." Donnelly has signed up for the dog section. |
| The problem, he says, is that an overstretched air service quickly becomes underused: officers stop calling on them. If London's helicopters are obliged to respond across a wider area, the increased transit times will rule out the sort of quick response that allows them to make a difference. "At 2am," he says, "we're the only helicopter south of Birmingham." | The problem, he says, is that an overstretched air service quickly becomes underused: officers stop calling on them. If London's helicopters are obliged to respond across a wider area, the increased transit times will rule out the sort of quick response that allows them to make a difference. "At 2am," he says, "we're the only helicopter south of Birmingham." |
| As he talks, the helicopter outside begins ground testing. Even inside, the noise makes conversation difficult. Donnelly excuses himself, leaving the photographer and me to stare at one another across the table. I'm hungry, and starting to worry about how I'm going to write a piece about drinking tea and watching back-to-back episodes of How I Met Your Mother. I wonder if I'm allowed to change the channel. | As he talks, the helicopter outside begins ground testing. Even inside, the noise makes conversation difficult. Donnelly excuses himself, leaving the photographer and me to stare at one another across the table. I'm hungry, and starting to worry about how I'm going to write a piece about drinking tea and watching back-to-back episodes of How I Met Your Mother. I wonder if I'm allowed to change the channel. |
| The door opens and Donnelly leans in. "Come on!" he shouts. "We've got a job." | The door opens and Donnelly leans in. "Come on!" he shouts. "We've got a job." |
| The noise on the tarmac makes it impossible to discuss the nature of the assignment: we all have our fingers in our ears. I climb into the back seat of India 99. (The call sign belongs to whichever helicopter leaves the ground first; if another one goes up, it becomes India 98.) The pilot, Captain Matt Leaver, and PC Dan Arnold sit in front. Donnelly has the middle seat, where the screens for the video, telescopic and thermal-imaging cameras are. As the rotors start turning, I put on my headphones, instantly entering into a cacophonous conversation I don't understand: one of the voices is air traffic control; others burst through from a pan-London channel; three of them belong to the people sitting in front of me. | The noise on the tarmac makes it impossible to discuss the nature of the assignment: we all have our fingers in our ears. I climb into the back seat of India 99. (The call sign belongs to whichever helicopter leaves the ground first; if another one goes up, it becomes India 98.) The pilot, Captain Matt Leaver, and PC Dan Arnold sit in front. Donnelly has the middle seat, where the screens for the video, telescopic and thermal-imaging cameras are. As the rotors start turning, I put on my headphones, instantly entering into a cacophonous conversation I don't understand: one of the voices is air traffic control; others burst through from a pan-London channel; three of them belong to the people sitting in front of me. |
| "Pick a number between one and two," says somebody. | "Pick a number between one and two," says somebody. |
| "A few thunderstorms forecast," says someone else. | "A few thunderstorms forecast," says someone else. |
| "Traffic, traffic," says traffic. The helicopter lurches into the air, and the reservoirs of the Lea Valley roll into view below us. | "Traffic, traffic," says traffic. The helicopter lurches into the air, and the reservoirs of the Lea Valley roll into view below us. |
| "Holy shit!" I scream. Fortunately, I have not had the presence of mind to push my talk button. | "Holy shit!" I scream. Fortunately, I have not had the presence of mind to push my talk button. |
| "Westminster Bridge, please," says Donnelly, the way you might instruct a taxi driver. The helicopter turns, dips and shoots off. Thirty seconds in, it's already the coolest thing I've ever done. | "Westminster Bridge, please," says Donnelly, the way you might instruct a taxi driver. The helicopter turns, dips and shoots off. Thirty seconds in, it's already the coolest thing I've ever done. |
| It takes six minutes to get from Essex to Big Ben. Rain spatters the windows as we skirt one of the aforementioned thunderstorms. Along the way, we are afforded a spectacular view of the garden of Buckingham Palace, where some kind of reception is taking place. The Queen herself, dressed in bright yellow, is clearly distinguishable. Only later will I learn that we "lifted" in aid of a man who had slit his wrists on Westminster Bridge. The police were afraid he might jump, and called out the helicopter to keep track of him. By the time we got there he'd been safely detained, but once India 99 is up, its transponder signalling its location, all kinds of requests come in. | It takes six minutes to get from Essex to Big Ben. Rain spatters the windows as we skirt one of the aforementioned thunderstorms. Along the way, we are afforded a spectacular view of the garden of Buckingham Palace, where some kind of reception is taking place. The Queen herself, dressed in bright yellow, is clearly distinguishable. Only later will I learn that we "lifted" in aid of a man who had slit his wrists on Westminster Bridge. The police were afraid he might jump, and called out the helicopter to keep track of him. By the time we got there he'd been safely detained, but once India 99 is up, its transponder signalling its location, all kinds of requests come in. |
| A man has been seen shoving a motorbike into the back of van in Pimlico. Donnelly punches in the address, and soon spots a van matching the description doubling back at speed as a police car approaches. The helicopter tracks the van until it parks and the driver gets out, filming him as he dumps a pair of gloves. When he turns a corner, the helicopter turns with him, and I find myself looking straight down on to the top of his head out of my side window. He must know we're here for him. As soon as the police pick him up, we return to the van to zoom in on the registration number, and direct police to its whereabouts. We watch on the camera as the back doors are opened, revealing not one but two motorbikes. | A man has been seen shoving a motorbike into the back of van in Pimlico. Donnelly punches in the address, and soon spots a van matching the description doubling back at speed as a police car approaches. The helicopter tracks the van until it parks and the driver gets out, filming him as he dumps a pair of gloves. When he turns a corner, the helicopter turns with him, and I find myself looking straight down on to the top of his head out of my side window. He must know we're here for him. As soon as the police pick him up, we return to the van to zoom in on the registration number, and direct police to its whereabouts. We watch on the camera as the back doors are opened, revealing not one but two motorbikes. |
| Later, Leaver tells me that is his favourite kind of job, "because they wouldn't have got him if we hadn't been there". | Later, Leaver tells me that is his favourite kind of job, "because they wouldn't have got him if we hadn't been there". |
| "But if that had come in upstairs," says Donnelly, "we wouldn't have taken it." Much of helicopter policing is fortuitous; India 99 just happened to be in the right place at the right time. | "But if that had come in upstairs," says Donnelly, "we wouldn't have taken it." Much of helicopter policing is fortuitous; India 99 just happened to be in the right place at the right time. |
| From Pimlico we head west. While airborne, the helicopter crew often makes routine security checks; the approach to Heathrow, for example, is regularly filmed, so that if there's an incident the recent footage can be reviewed. As we cruise above the river, London is spread out like a map, landmarks as sharply delineated as a computer simulation. I'm wondering whether to press the talk button in order to say I can see my house when another call comes in. The helicopter spins through 240 degrees and pitches forward. London wheels and lunges past the windows. When it finally starts heading in a straight line again, I no longer know north from south. | From Pimlico we head west. While airborne, the helicopter crew often makes routine security checks; the approach to Heathrow, for example, is regularly filmed, so that if there's an incident the recent footage can be reviewed. As we cruise above the river, London is spread out like a map, landmarks as sharply delineated as a computer simulation. I'm wondering whether to press the talk button in order to say I can see my house when another call comes in. The helicopter spins through 240 degrees and pitches forward. London wheels and lunges past the windows. When it finally starts heading in a straight line again, I no longer know north from south. |
| It's not until we fly over Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace's football ground, that I regain my bearings. We are in pursuit of a man seen running with a knife, but the thermal imaging isn't picking up anything in the area. I am gripped, however, by what seems to be a whole universe bounded by four streets: a man raking an allotment; a back garden crammed with boats; a child bouncing on a trampoline. | It's not until we fly over Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace's football ground, that I regain my bearings. We are in pursuit of a man seen running with a knife, but the thermal imaging isn't picking up anything in the area. I am gripped, however, by what seems to be a whole universe bounded by four streets: a man raking an allotment; a back garden crammed with boats; a child bouncing on a trampoline. |
| Suddenly, we're off to what I will later call the Teevan Road Incident, when I have to ask Donnelly what exactly was happening. | Suddenly, we're off to what I will later call the Teevan Road Incident, when I have to ask Donnelly what exactly was happening. |
| "We had a call about an individual wanted for a bail violation," he says. Someone had tipped the police off to his whereabouts – in a car parked on Teevan Road in Croydon, near the knife incident – and India 99 got there first to direct officers and record the arrest. The comprehensive evidence provided by a helicopter is rarely contested. "I've been involved in the arrest of more than 1,000 people in six years," says Donnelly, "and I haven't been in court once." | "We had a call about an individual wanted for a bail violation," he says. Someone had tipped the police off to his whereabouts – in a car parked on Teevan Road in Croydon, near the knife incident – and India 99 got there first to direct officers and record the arrest. The comprehensive evidence provided by a helicopter is rarely contested. "I've been involved in the arrest of more than 1,000 people in six years," says Donnelly, "and I haven't been in court once." |
| From Teevan Road we're meant to fly back to Lippitts Hill (via an eye-level spin round the top of the Shard), but we're called twice more: once to look for a missing elderly person (no luck), and once to follow an "IC1 male" (white, northern European) who appeared to be casing houses in Pinner (detained just as we arrive). When we finally touch down after an hour and 20 minutes in the air, the photographer is feeling queasy. I want to do it all over again. | From Teevan Road we're meant to fly back to Lippitts Hill (via an eye-level spin round the top of the Shard), but we're called twice more: once to look for a missing elderly person (no luck), and once to follow an "IC1 male" (white, northern European) who appeared to be casing houses in Pinner (detained just as we arrive). When we finally touch down after an hour and 20 minutes in the air, the photographer is feeling queasy. I want to do it all over again. |
| The weird things I've seen still flash through my mind: two baseball diamonds, some cows, a tiny yellow Queen and a surprising amount of green space (don't let anyone ever tell you that Greater London suffers from an insufficiency of golf courses). | The weird things I've seen still flash through my mind: two baseball diamonds, some cows, a tiny yellow Queen and a surprising amount of green space (don't let anyone ever tell you that Greater London suffers from an insufficiency of golf courses). |
| Afterwards, I ask the pilot if he plans to stay on. "I won't if we go to NPAS," Leaver says. "Cos that's not what I'm about. I'm about ensuring London gets the best service." Once the helicopter is refuelled, Lippitts Hill returns to its usual sleepiness; insects buzz in the heavy air. On the road outside the gate, a horse clops by. | Afterwards, I ask the pilot if he plans to stay on. "I won't if we go to NPAS," Leaver says. "Cos that's not what I'm about. I'm about ensuring London gets the best service." Once the helicopter is refuelled, Lippitts Hill returns to its usual sleepiness; insects buzz in the heavy air. On the road outside the gate, a horse clops by. |
| • This article was amended on 12 June 2014. The earlier version said "If I'm going to go up in a helicopter, I'd just assume conditions were favourable." |