Strange Air Activity over Staffordshire Stoke-on-Trent

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum. I was going to post this in the UFO forum but I did not really think this is UFO related.

This evening at about 7pm two Apache attack helicopters flew over our house and we live on a respectable housing estate on the outskirts of Stoke-on-trent. They flew over very low and they looked to be fully loaded. I have NEVER! seen a apache attack helicopter in my life and to cap it all I have NEVER seen a apache that seemed to be fully loaded fly over a large civilian housing estate at a very low altitude.

Then this evening at about 10pm what seemed to be two fighter jets flew over in the same direction and they seemed to turn and do strange manouvers then they flew off out of sight. Again this is over a large housing estate and these where also at low altitude.

Something tells me that there is something going on or going down that we are not being told about as I have NEVER EVER seen anything like that here and we have been living on this Estate now for 20+ years.

Has anyone else witnessed the same thing?

Edit: this maybe better in the UFO section could a mod please move this post if needed please. Thanks.

I live too far away but often in our sea-side town in Devon we have the local helicopter fly over or dally with its light on trying to find someone etc. They do make a noise but I have never seen Apache fly down here. I bet they made a noise though didn't they?

I remember taking our sons to a Navy Day in Portsmouth and we all sat on the flight deck of one of our aircraft carriers. Suddenly a Harrier swooped down around the bay and flew up to the ship and went below the deck and then slowly, and very noisily facing the deck arose to just over level with us. It was one of the most frightening things to face - the kids were enthralled, but the fire power and menace from one of those aircraft that close to me made me glad it was one of ours and peaceful. Something so powerful just hovering there made me shudder.

I'm down the road in Shropshire between RAF Cosford and RAF Shawbury and have noticed increased activity over the last few days , I think there may be an exercise going on .

They really did make a noise. It shocked me. I have never seen armed apache helicopters fly over a housing estate in stoke-on-trent, staffordshre. Then to cap it off tonight 10pm two fighter jets flying really low doing strange menouvers.

Very very odd and for it to be over a highly populated housing estate this is something I have never seen before!

It's that time of year for airshows...

Well with anouncements that the USA is closing embassys in what appears to be the middle east something may be about to go down.

reply to post by Soloprotocol


No air shows localy planned I did check that out.

I saw a couple of Apache helicopters the other day too, flying in formation, low over Codsall, Staffordshire. I couldn't say whether they were armed or not. The flight path did not suggest that they had overflown RAF Cosford but their general direction was towards Stafford. Could be Prince Harry was on his way somewhere - who knows now he's a fully qualified Apache pilot/commander.

reply to post by ciscoagent


There where also 2 fighter jets about 3 hours after flyng really low and they where LOUD!

This is interesting:-
www.gov.uk...

Low flying isn’t allowed in areas around airports, or towns and cities with populations of more than 10,000.

We have more than 10,000 and they where VERY low!

This is all in the space of 3 hours.

This to me is Extremely strange and very out of the ordonary!

reply to post by crazyewok


Could be. But why are they closing all embassies That is also VERY strange. Last time they did that was before they attacked Iraq in Opperation Desert Fox.

reply to post by jroduk


I have no idea, thats all the informations thats been said and it comes into effect this sunday.

Could be direct involvement in syria or a big al quida threat?

But uk security will be ramped up too if something big is amiss.

I wouldn't read too much into it, to be honest. Aircraft move about all the time, doesn't mean something is "about to go down"....

Here is a link about the low flying area's used by the Military. There are a great many LFA's around the UK and at various times of the year, they are scheduled to have low flying aircraft.

It may well have been the case that Aircraft from a nearby RAF base were en route to one of the larger ranges. What direction were these aircraft travelling in?

Here is a more detailed map of various area's used around the UK.

It's also worth noting that, apart from airspace around airfields/airports and larger cities (regulated airspace), the rest of the country is pretty much up for grabs where the Military is concerned. They classify "low flying" as below 100ft, so provided they weren't below this, I wouldn't hinge to much on the fact that because your town has over 10,000 people, they wouldn't fly over it.

Originally posted by jroduk
Very very odd and for it to be over a highly populated housing estate this is something I have never seen before!

It isn't that odd, really. I've seen Apaches from time to time where I live and the direction they fly takes them right over central Reading, a town of 300k+. Just because you haven't seen it happen before, doesn't make it odd. They are actually quite quiet machines and you could well have missed the previous 10 times they flew over your estate for a variety of reasons.

In central Texas we see hear and feel Apaches
Blackhawks Cobras etc. Can't think of a time I've seen
one with loaded with ordinance .

So it's either nothing or the start of a War.

reply to post by sealing


I've seen them with ordnance on a few occasions, other times without - just a few miles from my house is one of the Army's training centres for the techs who maintain them, so we see quite a few flights if you look up at the right time.

If we were about to plunge into War, I'd expect to see a lot more movement on the part of the Military - quite a few of my family are either ex-forces or serving reservists having left the regulars and I'm not hearing a bean about any pending War. In fact, one of my Uncle's is a senior Officer in the RAF and he's planning his hols like everyone else... That isn't to say it's all subterfuge, but I would put a significant amount of money on this being nothing exciting and just some training flights.

reply to post by jroduk


How close are you to a Hospital? Does it have a heli-pad?
They may have been doing training, protecting an imaginary/real landed helicopter at the Hospital.
I live about 1 mile from my local hospital and the RAF use it for training often, I've seen Chinooks, Merlin and Apache. Sometimes in formation, sometimes on there own.

reply to post by jroduk


We had a jet fighter over us last night around 11pm. I live in a small village called Warmingham between Sandbach & Middlewich in Cheshire so sort of North of you. It was flying West & lowish. I see Hercules, Tornado, Chinook in the daytime but never see anything at night.

reply to post by jroduk


The people that live there, and the aviation officials that set the rules generally have a very different definition of "low" in the low flight rules. For example in the US aircraft are required (in small town areas) to maintain at least 500 feet over the top of the tallest structure in town (that's what it used to be). A lot of people say that's too low, and it should be higher.

What you consider really low may be well within limits set by the authorities for low level flights. It seems a lot lower than it is, especially if you're not used to it.

reply to post by jroduk


i livie in hanley. i was in garden and found it very strange to see them so low. i had my binoculars with me and seeing all those missiles was very strange .20 seconds later a police helicopter went the same way

I live somewhere in Toronto and how that an Canadian Chinook has being flying over our residential area for the whole two years with headlights on at night.