Do Crop Circles Attract Military Helicopters?
During a truly remarkable interview on the Paranormal Peep Show podcast in the summer of 2024, croppie Robert Hulse began talking about his experiences with low flying military helicopters in and around crop circles in the Vale of Pewsey. Such tales used to be the stuff of croppie folklore with the likes of Colin Andrews and Andrew Buckley sharing stories of their own encounters with this intimidating presence. Buckley even went as far as to talk of a ‘fully armed’ helicopter bearing an ‘unusual apparatus … hanging beneath the fuselage’ which made the 14 July 2003 crop circle at Woodborough Bridge. The following year he apparently saw something very similar happen on 25 July at Golden Ball Hill, just outside Alton Priors.
Whilst we have always treated the claims of Andy Buckley with extreme scepticism, it is undeniable that many croppies have witnessed low flying helicopters engaging in what they have perceived to be quite intimidating manoeuvers above and around crop circles. It’s well worth watching this short clip of Colin Andrews apparently being harassed by Westland Lynx helicopters belonging to the Army Air Corps (AAC) in 1994:
Oh come on Colin. We’ve had our own experiences with them, much closer than your encounter too. In the summer of 2001 I was stood overlooking East Field, just down from the Knap Hill car park above Alton Barnes. An army Gazelle helicopter flew in, lifted its nose and hovered directly in front of me, its front just feet from the hillside. The crew were clearly visible but totally engaged in their flying and made no acknowledgement of my presence. On other occasions prior to 2012 I’ve witnessed Gazelle, Lynx, Apache and Wessex helicopters flying extremely low over the Vale of Pewsey. I can understand why so many croppies find such events intimidating. Indeed, I have even overheard croppies claiming the military are attempting to scare us all away from new formations. So what’s going on?
First, let’s break some hearts. Whilst the frequency of low-level helicopter flights above the Vale of Pewsey aren’t as frequent as they once were, they occur all-year round, and not just during crop circle season. This social media post from February 2021 shows an RAF Puma helicopter practising landing and ascending in woods near to Everleigh. In December 2009, gamekeeper Malcolm Hughes drove his Land Rover perilously close to an AAC Squirrel helicopter as it performed low-flying manoeuvers just metres above farmland near Pewsey.
So, just why are helicopters flying so low above the Vale of Pewsey? Well, that area is nothing special. The skies above the UK are divided into 18 areas in which military aircraft, including helicopters, can conduct low flying exercises — essential for training — at heights between ground level and 2000 feet above ground level. According to a 2009 document published by the MoD on low level flying, helicopters can routinely fly down to a minimum of 100 feet but, with authorisation, can touch down onto the ground. The bulk of both Wiltshire (including the Vale of Pewsey but excluding the north-west of the county) and Hampshire, falls under Low Flying Area 1, a zone of ‘intense helicopter activity for Joint Helicopter Command Units based at RAF Benson [Wallingford, Oxfordshire] and RAF Odiham [Hampshire], together with the School of Army Aviation at Middle Wallop [Hampshire]. This Area also contains the Salisbury Plain Defence Training Estate which is the UK’s largest training area and of great importance to both air and ground forces.’ It is worth noting that in the case of Malcolm Hughes, the threatened helicopter had flown from AAC Middle Wallop, near Andover, just over the Hampshire-Wiltshire county border. Prior to 2012, the AAC also operated a station at Netheravon, just six miles south of Pewsey.
Of course, none of this explains why military helicopters are alleged to taken an interest in specific crop circles. We would suggest that, based on common sense and a chance coversation with an individual who served as aircrew in the armed services, a large curio imprinted on the surface of a cereal field would make an excellent visual reference point during exercises. Indeed, in the summer of 2024 croppies visiting the formation at Stoke Charity in Hampshire made the acquaintance of an RAF Chinook helicopter from RAF Odiham. It performed a sequence of loops around the area, on each occasion returning to hover at low-level, loading ramp down, just metres from the crop circle.
It goes without saying that we really don’t expect anyone to listen to what we have to say. However, if you want to read how certain croppies like to spend taxpayers’ money on such things, have a read of this.
