You couldn’t make this up.
Days before Christmas, London’s Gatwick Airport was brought to a standstill after reports of a drone interfering with the airspace around the runway.
Since then, speculation has mounted that all was not as it seemed. Two people arrested on suspicion of being behind the drone incident were released without charge. After that, UK police admitted that it was a possibility that there had never been any drone at all.
As of Saturday morning, the situation has potentially become even more embarrassing. Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today, Giles York, the Chief Constable of Sussex, admitted that some of the drone sightings might actually have been police equipmentlooking for the drone.
York said: “Of course, we will have launched our own Sussex Police drones at the time with a view to investigate, with a view to engage, with a view to survey the area looking for the drone, so there could be some level of confusion there.”
At the time, it was believed that a drone was sent into the airspace in a deliberate attempt to lock the airport down. However, after the first drone disappeared from the airspace, further closures occurred on 20 December when the airport thought another drone might have been in the vicinity.
Police still haven’t found a drone that they believe was involved in the incident.
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