Mystery of late night flight circulating over Birmingham & West Midlands solved

A number of readers contacted us this morning regarding a mysterious aircraft that was noticed flying around the south Birmingham area late last night (Wednesday 10th February).

The FlightRadar app showed a Cessna 404 belonging to RVL Aviation flying in circles and strips around Birmingham and the Black Country for at least two hours, having taken off from East Midlands Airport at around 10pm.

RVL Aviation carry out varied work — including mapping, spraying, cargo and private passengers — for both government and official agencies; and private customers. We contacted them to find out what the plane was doing and it turns out they were doing a mapping survey of the terrain of the area.

Mysterious night flight

A spokesman for RVL Group said: “Some of the survey and mapping work we undertake for various environment, government agencies and entities can only be carried out at night for operational and technical reasons. These are often, but not limited to, availability of access to busy airspace. Another reason is that the air tends to be more stable at night which is helpful for survey accuracy.”

Flight path

“The sensors on board the aircraft collect data in ‘strips’ of varying width depending on the resolution of data required, hence the up and down flying patterns you might see on an app. These ‘strips’ are then joined together to produce a complete survey of the area being studied. Night-time flights are usually collecting thermal data or LiDAR imagery to be used in constructing 3D models of the terrain, most often to calculate changes in flood risk by environmental agencies.”

Apology

A spokesman said: “First, we regret any disturbance our night flights may have caused […] your communities. Let me assure you that the flight […] was carried out in full accordance with all applicable regulations as issued by the UK civil aviation authorities.”

He added that it is rare for the same areas to be covered frequently so, although there is a slight chance of a return visit to recapture data, it is unlikely that they will be back any time soon.