Prince William lands helicopter on Kate Middleton's land
Sunday, 20 Apr 2008 12:08
Prince William landed helicopter near Kate Middleton's home
Prince William landed a Royal Air Force helicopter on land belonging to the family of his girlfriend Kate Middleton earlier this month.
The News of the World reported that the second in line to the throne had sought permission from Middleton's family to ground the Chinook on their estate in Berkshire during a training mission on April 3rd due to a lack of landing slots available.
A ministry of defence (MoD) official said the flight was a "routine training sortie" which was in line with instruction objectives, adding that aircraft were often put to ground at sites outside of allotted landing slots.
A spokesman for the MoD said: "Battlefield helicopter crews routinely practice landing in fields and confined spaces away from their airfields as a vital part of their training for operations.
"These highly-honed skills are used daily in conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan."
The MoD official added that William, who received his Royal Air Wings on April 11th after completing an accelerated course, did not take anyone on board the helicopter on the day.
An RAF trained pilot Jon Lake told the newspaper that the flight was unnecessary, adding that pilots with Prince Williams' level of training are never allowed to command such an aircraft.
Prince William is set to train with the Navy soon as well as part of efforts to familiarise him with the role of the armed forces.