Plane forced to land in Battersea Park

[Junior Chubb]

I was hoping some UM members might be able to shed some light on a story I came across at work.

I was discussing the Olympics with a client, after going over our highlights of the games we started to cover security and the 'terrorist' threat, she then revealed this story to me...

Her husband was working in Battersea Park where he saw a small aeroplane land. He claims the aircraft was forced to land after straying into the Olympic 'no fly zone', apparently the rooftop missiles or a 'fighter jet' were used as a deterrent to force the pane down to land in Battersea Park (how he knew this from the ground I do not know). I challenged the story with a few basic questions, but being in a professional/client relationship I could not probe to hard. This apparently happened about 4 day's into the Olympic games.

I have known the client for years, I have no suspicion that she is telling a story she does not believe to be true, she is an intelligent well rounded woman and not one for exaggeration or boasting.

I am re-telling the story from memory, as she was (second hand) and we all know how unreliable the human memory is. I told her how interested in the story I was and that I was looking forward to researching it...

So this is what I did, and unsurprisingly I have found nothing to back up the claims made in the story. The links below are the closest thing I found...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2178786/RAF-fighter-jet-scrambled-air-traffic-controllers-lose-contact-Thomas-Cook-airliner-carrying-hundreds-tourists.html

http://summergames.ap.org/article/eyes-london-volleyball-visit-prince

So I have had to turn to the eyes and ears of UM to see if anyone might have heard something similar or anyone in the Battersea Park area might be able to back up any claims made in the story.

After reading this post back to myself I am not hopeful, but I did say I would look into this further before her next visit...

[CRIPTIC CHAMELEON]

Don't know about this one but back the 1940s a couple landed/crashed there.

[Junior Chubb]

Don't know about this one but back the 1940s a couple landed/crashed there.

Lol, maybe that is what he saw and it was the 1948 Olympics...

[Coffey]

Not heard anything about this and I was constantly checking news reports on the Olympics because of all that conspiracy stuff.

[CRIPTIC CHAMELEON]

Lol, maybe that is what he saw and it was the 1948 Olympics...

I was thinking battle of britain, forgot the about the 1948 olympics

[Ashotep]

If something like that happened I haven't heard anything. That would of been all over the news but I will keep a eye open for it.

[Junior Chubb]

Not heard anything about this and I was constantly checking news reports on the Olympics because of all that conspiracy stuff.

Cheers Coffey, I do remember you posting a few security breaches during the Olympics. I thought this might be a bridge to far...

[Junior Chubb]

Not heard anything about this and I was constantly checking news reports on the Olympics because of all that conspiracy stuff.

If something like that happened I haven't heard anything. That would of been all over the news but I will keep a eye open for it.

We discussed that this would be publicised, but she was lead to believe it was kept quiet to avoid bad press/panic/fear etc....

This is sounding worse as I add more information is added (that's the trouble with our bloody memories, we always leave parts out and embellish a few extra details with each telling of a tale). I was hopeful of a lead, not to an event that matches perfectly but maybe an event with some similarities

[Jackofalltrades]

It is possible that it did happen, it was possibly kept quiet to avoid bad press/panic/fear etc.... just like the woman said it was

If she is as You describe her then I cannot see her lying or making it up

If that is the case then there will be little to no information regarding such an event in the news, when the government want to keep the lid on thing's they normally do

The only way to either debunk it or confirm it is to enquire at Battersea Park, and see if there are other witnesses to such a thing happening

[Junior Chubb]

It is possible that it did happen, it was possibly kept quiet to avoid bad press/panic/fear etc.... just like the woman said it was

If she is as You describe her then I cannot see her lying or making it up

If that is the case then there will be little to no information regarding such an event in the news, when the government want to keep the lid on thing's they normally do

The only way to either debunk it or confirm it is to enquire at Battersea Park, and see if there are other witnesses to such a thing happening

An event of this size would leave footprints and hopefully 'if it happened' there are people out there who can confirm it, it would also be very hard to 'cover up' being as it was in London during a time when there was probably me more cameras/video cameras/reporters/tourists than there has ever been. Hopefully though someone may have heard a similar story or witnessed something happening along these lines.

If something comes from this thread it might spark me into researching this further but so far it is looking like a dead end.

Thanks for a positive response though.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Junior Chubb

[keithisco]

I was hoping some UM members might be able to shed some light on a story I came across at work.

I was discussing the Olympics with a client, after going over our highlights of the games we started to cover security and the 'terrorist' threat, she then revealed this story to me...

Her husband was working in Battersea Park where he saw a small aeroplane land. He claims the aircraft was forced to land after straying into the Olympic 'no fly zone', apparently the rooftop missiles or a 'fighter jet' were used as a deterrent to force the pane down to land in Battersea Park (how he knew this from the ground I do not know). I challenged the story with a few basic questions, but being in a professional/client relationship I could not probe to hard. This apparently happened about 4 day's into the Olympic games.

I have known the client for years, I have no suspicion that she is telling a story she does not believe to be true, she is an intelligent well rounded woman and not one for exaggeration or boasting.

I am re-telling the story from memory, as she was (second hand) and we all know how unreliable the human memory is. I told her how interested in the story I was and that I was looking forward to researching it...

So this is what I did, and unsurprisingly I have found nothing to back up the claims made in the story. The links below are the closest thing I found...

http://www.dailymail...s-tourists.html

http://summergames.a...ll-visit-prince

So I have had to turn to the eyes and ears of UM to see if anyone might have heard something similar or anyone in the Battersea Park area might be able to back up any claims made in the story.

After reading this post back to myself I am not hopeful, but I did say I would look into this further before her next visit...

If anything it would have been a helicopter of 854 Naval Air Squadron that would have escorted a light plane. Not to land in Battersea Park, but to London City Airport. No such reports are available from the CAA or from London City Airport because there were no unexpected arrivals.

It could have been a microlight pilot unaware of the no - fly zone, but then it would definitely have been intercepted by a Helicopter

Seems to be a red herring

Edited September 19, 2012 by keithisco

[Junior Chubb]

If anything it would have been a helicopter of 854 Naval Air Squadron that would have escorted a light plane. Not to land in Battersea Park, but to London City Airport. No such reports are available from the CAA or from London City Airport because there were no unexpected arrivals.

It could have been a microlight pilot unaware of the no - fly zone, but then it would definitely have been intercepted by a Helicopter

Seems to be a red herring

Thanks keithisco,

Just one of question though...

Considering the extra security and paranoia at the time of the supposed incident, would escorting the plane to City Airport have been considered more of a risk than forcing a landing in Battersea Park, if this is where the intrusion into airspace occurred?

The more I re-read the OP, the more far fetched this sounds, while responding to your post I was considering the removal of the plane after the 'forced landing', it could not take off without attracting a lot of attention (pretty much like I assumed the landing would have done), they could not remove it by road without dismantling it and attracting a lot of attention.

I am looking forward to the return of the 'client' to probe her more deeply.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Junior Chubb

[Jackofalltrades]

Thanks keithisco,

Just one of question though...

Considering the extra security and paranoia at the time of the supposed incident, would escorting the plane to City Airport have been considered more of a risk than forcing a landing in Battersea Park, if this is where the intrusion into airspace occurred?

The more I re-read the OP, the more far fetched this sounds, while responding to your post I was considering the removal of the plane after the 'forced landing', it could not take off without attracting a lot of attention (pretty much like I assumed the landing would have done), they could not remove it by road without dismantling it and attracting a lot of attention.

I am looking forward to the return of the 'client' to probe her more deeply.

In response to the bits bolded out

The escort of the plane to the city airport would have been considered a higher security risk than the plane being forced to land in Battersea Park

On route to the airport, the pilot could have taken a nose dive at any target they liked if they were terrorist's, that is probably why they was

forced to land at Battersea Park (if it happened)

If there is enough space to land a light aircraft at Battersea Park then I would reckon there is more than enough space to take off again, while it would attract

a lot of attention, just like it would have done while landing, it would probably be the only feasible way to remove the plane, either by the pilot that flew it in there

(after being cleared/checked out and escorted) or by another pilot

Flying the plane out would attract a lot less attention than if it was taken apart put on a lorry and drove back to the airport through London

While it does seem far fetched, it is possible, probable and plausible that it could or did happen, due to the security measure's in place at the time due to the Olympic's

There has to be quite a few people that witnessed the incident if it happened, and yes if I were You I would ASK the client more question's

You could also post on facebook etc see if anyone from that area is any the wiser about it

Edited September 20, 2012 by Jackofalltrades

[Junior Chubb]

In response to the bits bolded out

The escort of the plane to the city airport would have been considered a higher security risk than the plane being forced to land in Battersea Park

On route to the airport, the pilot could have taken a nose dive at any target they liked if they were terrorist's, that is probably why they was

forced to land at Battersea Park (if it happened)

If there is enough space to land a light aircraft at Battersea Park then I would reckon there is more than enough space to take off again, while it would attract

a lot of attention, just like it would have done while landing, it would probably be the only feasible way to remove the plane, either by the pilot that flew it in there

(after being cleared/checked out and escorted) or by another pilot

Flying the plane out would attract a lot less attention than if it was taken apart put on a lorry and drove back to the airport through London

While it does seem far fetched, it is possible, probable and plausible that it could or did happen, due to the security measure's in place at the time due to the Olympic's

There has to be quite a few people that witnessed the incident if it happened, and yes if I were You I would ASK the client more question's

You could also post on facebook etc see if anyone from that area is any the wiser about it

I would say heading towards City Airport would leave more ground to cover and therefore more time for a situation to develop, but this is dependant on were the controlled air space was entered from. The taking off again is to much of an issue for me though...

I am wondering what the clients next visit will hold, whether she will stick to the story, fold under pressure or out her husband. Then again I might find it hard to push close enough to either of these responses.

I have no intention of using Facebook though, despite having an account I only sign in for emergency use... Defcon1 type of stuff.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Junior Chubb

[Coffey]

We discussed that this would be publicised, but she was lead to believe it was kept quiet to avoid bad press/panic/fear etc....

This is sounding worse as I add more information is added (that's the trouble with our bloody memories, we always leave parts out and embellish a few extra details with each telling of a tale). I was hopeful of a lead, not to an event that matches perfectly but maybe an event with some similarities

I wouldn't be surprised if it happened that it was kept quiet. They wouldn't want the bad press and if they could avoid it I'm guessing they would.

[Junior Chubb]

I wouldn't be surprised if it happened that it was kept quiet. They wouldn't want the bad press and if they could avoid it I'm guessing they would.

I do believe there might be an attempt to keep something like this quiet, its just whether that would be possible. I really can't see this happening in London while the Olympics was happening.

[Mr.United_Nations]

Are you sure they aren't just making it up?

[Space Commander Travis]

isn't Battersea Park rather a public place, rather more public, I dare say, than landing at an Airport? Surely you couldn't land a plane there, without anyone noticing. Besides, is there room to land anything apart form a Microlight?

[Junior Chubb]

isn't Battersea Park rather a public place, rather more public, I dare say, than landing at an Airport? Surely you couldn't land a plane there, without anyone noticing. Besides, is there room to land anything apart form a Microlight?

Great picture 747400, thanks for posting.

[Junior Chubb]

Are you sure they aren't just making it up?

The only reason I said I would look into it is is that I am sure she (the client) is not making it up, she was given the information from her other half (who I have not met) so there could be some untruth on his part or miscommunication of what he actually saw.

Clients at work need to be treated with respect so I was unable to push my questioning to far without going as far to say 'did he make this up?', that could be the case as a boast or even to wind her up (I have purposely mislead my other half before to wind her up, she went of to the dentist once after I convinced her there was a big hole in her tooth).

The information I got from her was intriguing and I said I was eager to look into it further, after drawing a blank on the web I thought I would try the varied views on UM. Unfortunately I am getting closer and closer to believing you might be spot on.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Junior Chubb