A police-owned plane was spotted doing loops over Aintree.
The Vulcanair P.68R, which is registered to the National Police Air Service, was seen looping over Aintree and Orrell Park for almost three hours on Thursday, April 7. According to FlightRadar the plane took off from Doncaster airport at 3.33pm and made its way straight to Merseyside.
The plane was seen looping on the opening day of the Grand National Festival at Aintree. This year is the first since 2019 that guests have been allowed to attend at full capacity.
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Merseyside Police confirmed they are not aware of any major police incidents in the area, as many people say the helicopter is in the skies to keep an eye on people at the festival.
Chief Inspector Matthew Moscrop said: “It was great to see everyone out enjoying the Aintree festival today after such a long time without spectators and we hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable time, despite the blustery weather. Even more visitors are expected tomorrow for Ladies Day and so I’d like to remind everyone to plan your journey in advance, leave plenty of time for security searches on the way into the course and drink responsibly but most importantly, have a great time.
“Officers will be both inside and outside the course engaging with the public so do come and say hello to us, highlight any concerns and report any incidents.”
Vulcanair P68 planes are based at Doncaster and provide air support for a number of police forces, including Humberside Police. Grimsby Live report the brightly-coloured planes are fitted with L3 WESCAM MX15 state of the art cameras.
After they were announced, the National Police Air Service said: "When the aeroplanes are operational, they will be deployed from NPAS’ Doncaster base. They will join the existing fleet of helicopters, which fly from 13 other NPAS bases."
GrimsbyLive added that the new planes are cheaper to run and maintain than rotary aircraft. They have greater endurance than helicopters and will mean that police air assets will be able to stay ‘on station’ for longer periods of time than helicopters.
