'Shock' as Aer Lingus plane flies between police helicopter and Windsor crowds
A police helicopter cameraman in Windsor captured the moment an Aer Lingus flight passed between it and the crowds.
Monday 21 May 2018 15:11, UK
Police scanning the crowds in a helicopter above the royal wedding got quite a fright when a plane flew directly beneath them.
A cameraman from the National Police Air Service (NPAS) was making sure the crowds in Windsor on Saturday were safe when the Aer Lingus flight suddenly appeared in between the helicopter and the ground.
The helicopter, which is based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire, was a few thousand feet above the plane.
But as the camera was zoomed in on some of the 100,000 people who came to watch the royal wedding, the plane looked like it was just metres away.
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Photos and video released on the NPAS Benson Twitter page revealed the moment.
It said: "That awkward moment when you're innocently scanning crowd numbers around the royal wedding and a plane several thousand feet BELOW us scares me for a split second!"
They later released the video footage, saying: "In case you missed it, here's the moment Aer Lingus photobombed the royal wedding yesterday and gave our cameraman a shock!"
Planes in Windsor are extremely common as Windsor Castle lies directly beneath one of Heathrow Airport's four main flight paths.
They were only prevented from flying over the castle during the royal wedding for 15 minutes on Saturday as Meghan Markle arrived at St George's Chapel to wed Prince Harry.
Announcing the quarter of an hour flight ban, a spokesman for the UK's National Air Traffic Service said: "Heathrow Airport has agreed to provide a 15 minute no-fly period over Windsor on the day of the royal wedding on 19 May."
He assured passengers there would be no disruption at Heathrow which is just east of the castle.
Sky News is waiting for a response from NPAS and Aer Lingus.