An emergency landing drama in which a helicopter carrying the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall started veering to one side has been described by air accident investigators.
The Sikorsky S-76C helicopter, with the royal pair and four other passengers aboard, began to veer or yaw to the right as it approached Denham aerodrome in Buckinghamshire, a report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.
Yaw control to the left was also limited and with various attempts to correct the problem having no effect, the 53-year-old captain declared a Pan emergency, a less serious declaration than a Mayday.
Charles and Camilla, who were heading to an engagement at the Hay-on-Wye Festival in Wales at 9.30am on May 23 last year and the other passengers were briefed on the situation.
They were also told that the two-man crew would carry out a running landing at Denham a different type of landing that can be used if an aircraft has a problem.
The incident, described at the time by a royal source as “quite a hairy incident”, took place. The royal couple travelled on to Hay by car, arriving around three hours behind schedule.
Once at Hay, the royal couple were reported to be looking relaxed and smiling, with neither alluding to their in-flight drama.