Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Low-flying planes leave onlookers in state of ‘disbelief’
People feared huge aircraft would crash
People across the district were left scratching their heads after low-flying planes appeared to almost skim trees and electricity cables.
Many have reported seeing large aircraft swooping so low over east Kent that they feared they might crash this month.
Several people spotted one plane flying just above the trees at Boughton golf club, between Faversham and Canterbury.
One golfer, preparing to tee off on November 5, said he thought itwasgoingtocomedownina neighbouring field.
“I’ve honestly never seen anything like it - it was like you could almost jump up and touch it,” he said.
“It wasn’t even flying straight - it was more at an angle. I genuinely thought it was going to crash into the field next to us.”
Last Monday, photographer Jack Huckstepp, 18, was shocked to see a plane swoop down over Chilham and rushed to snap a photo.
“It was very loud and it was a sound that you could feel as it went over,” he said.
“From where we were it looked not much higher than the tree tops.”
Jack took to Facebook to share his “one-in-a-million” photo.
One social media user said: “We saw it by the school in Chartham and for a second thought we were witnessing a crash!”
“Saw it along the A28 between Kennington and Wye just as
low,” said another, while one man said the sight left him “in absolute disbelief ”.
The sightings sparked a great deal of curiosity, with many wondering why the planes were operating at such a height.
But the RAF has now confirmed pilots were taking part in low-flying exercises.
The lower limit for such training is 250ft above ground level, which the RAF says the planes adhere to throughout the training.
A spokesman said: “Members of the public who are not familiar with the size of RAF aircraft often believe aircraft are much lower than they actually are.
“The RAF aircraft identified in Kent were Hercules C-130 and Atlas A400M from RAF Brize Norton. They were completing routine essential low-flying training, which remains vital for our aircrew to achieve and maintain operational effectiveness.”
The MOD provides a Low Flying Complaints Enquiry Unit and says it takes complaints about low-flying aircraft very seriously, but no issues have been raised concerning the Kent training, which it says was conducted within flying rules and regulations.
Did you take a picture of one of the planes? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup.co.uk.
‘I genuinely thought it was going to crash into the field next to us’