KEY PART OF POLICE OPS

Stockline plastics explosion

Glasgow 2004 Nine people died and 33 were injured when a gas leak caused a factory explosion at Stockline Plastics in Maryhill, Glasgow. Inspector Whyte said: “The helicopter responded immediately to search for injured people with its thermal image camera and to beam live pictures back to the control room of what the disaster looked like.”

Glasgow Airport terror attack 2007

After terrorists set fire to a jeep they rammed into the terminal of Glasgow Airport, police received intelligence the men had visited areas near Rowardennan, Argyll. Whyte said: “The helicopter was used to try to identify what they thought might be a training camp or area used to prepare explosives.”

Lockerbie bomber release 2009

When Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released from Greenock jail after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, the helicopter helped ensure he was taken safely to Glasgow Airport for a flight to Libya. Whyte said: “The helicopter would’ve been able to spot anyone trying to disrupt the convoy of vehicles.”

Glasgow Commonwealth Games

2014 Whyte said: “This was the first time we deployed two helicopters together. The primary helicopter focused on our day-to-day work, while our back-up helicopter was dedicated to operations relating to the Commonwealth Games.”

Suzanne Pilley murder investigation

In 2012 David Gilroy was convicted of murdering his ex-lover and work colleague. He is believed to have killed her in Edinburgh and driven to Argyll to dump her body, which is yet to be found. Whyte said: “We’ve been involved in searches in Argyll to try to look for disturbed ground.”

Visit by US president Donald Trump 2018

Trump spent two nights at his Turnberry resort. Whyte said: “Our role was to go ahead of the police and make sure there weren’t going to be security issues.”