The Duchess of Cornwall experienced two near misses while flying in a royal helicopter last year, a report by the UK Airprox Board has revealed. Camilla was travelling from Sandringham Flower Show to her house in Wiltshire on 25 July 2018 when she came close to disaster.
The first near collision occurred when Camilla's royal Sikorsky S76 helicopter almost crashed into another aircraft, a De Havilland Canada DHC-6, carrying parachutists. According to the Daily Mail, the royal helicopter was within nine seconds of a head-on crash. The two aircrafts had been travelling at a collective speed of 265mph and risk of a collision had been "high", an air traffic controller at RAF Marham, Norfolk said.
© Photo: Getty ImagesCamilla, pictured previously, was involved in two near misses on the same flight
Around 45 minutes later, while preparing to land, Camilla's helicopter made another emergency manoeuvre at 160mph after fortunately spotting a glider and swerving to avoid them.
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Prince Charles and Camilla had been visiting the Sandringham Flower Show last summer when the incidents occurred. The Prince was believed to have remained in Norfolk while his wife took off in a royal helicopter from Anmer Hall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's country home, at 1:11pm to return home.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe royals had been attending the Sandringham Flower Show last summer
The UK Airprox Board report revealed that the pilot of the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 aircraft, which almost crashed into Camilla, was carrying out his eighth flight that day. The pilot had failed to alert flight controllers at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, of his presence. RAF Lakenheath, which had been instructed to warn other aircraft to stay away from the royal helicopter, made "numerous" attempts to contact the pilot but he failed to respond as he was "distracted by passengers in the back", the report said.
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Camilla and Charles were attending the Sandringham Flower Show on the Queen's estate, as they do every year, before the Duchess' near misses. The couple admired the competition displays which included flowers, gardens, cakes and baked goods, as well as vegetables. They also chatted to well-wishers in the crowd, including one fan who told Camilla: "I hope you have a lovely holiday, you deserve it ma'am." The royals were carrying out their last engagement before their summer break.
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