Low flying unmarked 4 prop plane spotted 3 times in a week. Any ideas?

On Tuesday 21st August I was driving from Wales to the Midlands in the early evening. Still plenty of light. At 7.25pm about eight miles the other side of Monmouth on the M50 I was surprised when a large 4 propeller airplane crossed just ahead of me flying very low. It was the lowest I'd ever seen an airplane that wasn't landing or taking off. I'd say below 500 feet. I lost sight of it and then when I rounded the next bend I saw it again. It was following the countours of the land flying in a valley with high valley walls. I kept it in sight long enough to realise it was intending to fly through the long valley that I was looking down the length of again at the same low altitude.

I deemed this to be so significant aberrant behaviour that I told some friends. On the 23rd one of them told me they'd seen a plane matching that description and flying very low just outside Banbury.

On the 28th at 1.30pm I was heading back to Wales and saw it again, again low and heading in the same general direction as the first time.

I've tried to come up with rational explanations but failed. Why is it painted matte green? Why is it flying so low? Why does it have no identifying markings?

Has anyone else seen it? If not then why the heck do I keep bumping into it? Answers on a postcard to...

Her's a Google Map that shows the approximate locations. Map

could it be possible that someone was joyriding an airplane.

its called fun, try it sometime.

My best guess is probably it is a low-flying unmarked 4 prop plane.

Check www.flightradar24.com the next time you see it. Military aircraft are usually listed (transponder active) unless they are on a mission and even then they will usually run a bogus transponder signal to avoid arousing suspicion.

I'm guessing that it is simply training flights, but with the military....you never know

Aerial photographer?
Electric or gas meter reader?
Sight seeing?

reply to post by randomname


Hey thanks for the really useful input, such wisdom and insight are really rare, I'm so grateful you took the trouble to reply in such detail and I particularly liked the way you answered my questions about the aircraft being unmarked.

It's people like you that make ATS such a special, warm welcoming place to share ideas and info.

Keep it up big guy.

reply to post by Cosmic911


Wow, you ever thought about doing standup? I'm laughing so hard I wet myself.

reply to post by OccamAssassin


Thanks for replying. I considered everything but I don't understand why unmarked and I don't understand why a prop plane. I would have thought military aircraft need to have markings. Wasn't exactly a stealth aircraft.

reply to post by snowspirit


Bag of Maltesers to the first person that actually reads the post. BTW you didn't win the Maltesers.

I've seen a few privately owned 4-prop planes flying about the county. No where near as frequently as 3 times a week though. Perhaps this guy has a ridiculous budget for fuel and really loves to fly?

Ever wonder where those pictures in Google earth come from?

The planes have to fly low to take the aerial pics so that they get enough detail, its not done from space like some people think. They probably have to fly over the same area a few times to cover it all, and may have to come back if there were too many clouds in the way, especially if the pic is for developers or something.

All the pics need to be updated regularly.

The plane could be anything but that's my theory.

reply to post by Mkoll


I appreciate you taking the time to respond but surely ALL planes need identifying numbers or markings? Or is that not the case? I was hoping someone would know if a completely unmarked plane was lawful? Better start Googling I guess.

Originally posted by Thoriumisbest
Why is it painted matte green? Why is it flying so low? Why does it have no identifying markings?

Actually now I seen this I think it might be drug smugglers or for some other criminal enterprise.

Originally posted by Thoriumisbest
On Tuesday 21st August I was driving from Wales to the Midlands in the early evening. Still plenty of light. At 7.25pm about eight miles the other side of Monmouth on the M50 I was surprised when a large 4 propeller airplane crossed just ahead of me flying very low.

sounds like it was just a Hercules, they are olive drab and have low visibility markings.

www.google.com.au...:en-GBfficial&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch &sa=X&ei=zVU9UNeCOYmtiQfSl4CYCw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=901

Sorry, I missed the part about the missing tail markings. That is strange.But did it look look a military aircraft or a civilian one?

Originally posted by Thoriumisbest
reply to post by Mkoll

 

I appreciate you taking the time to respond but surely ALL planes need identifying numbers or markings?

Nope.

Though.......If it has four props, it will HAVE TO HAVE A TRANSPONDER (hence, why I mentioned it) and as such, will show up on flightradar24.com when it is in the air.

did it look like this?

upload.wikimedia.org...
If so, it's very common for them to fly low. They can do some amazing things that other planes cannot do.

reply to post by Thoriumisbest



You will have seen a C-130 Hercules operating in the low flying areas. You will have either seen an RAF C-130 or a United States Air Force C-130. The RAF C-130s are based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and the USAF C-130s are based at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk.

www.mod.uk...

www.mod.uk...

Low flying is nothing out of the ordinary and it simply part of military traning. Yes compared to say the 1970 and 1980s military low flying is on the decline but is still part of syllabus. The aircraft will not be unmarked. It is just your perception because the markings are relatively small. Painted green because it is military camouflage.

I suggest that you join a military enthusiast forum such as Fighter Control.

www.fightercontrol.co.uk...

As you can see from the Low Flying Area map low flying can take place all over the UK.

If you can climb up a hillside around 500 feet up you can obtain images such as these. These I took in Wales as the RAF C-130s follow the valley contours during their low level training.

www.airliners.net...

Some times you get a wave! Note that the markings are small. They are small for tactical reason.

www.airliners.net...

You described the colour as green. I would say that you saw one of the RAF C-130s. Some are painted green and some are painted grey.

One of the RAF C-130s painted green. Like the others I photographed this in wales from around 500 feet on the hillside.

www.airliners.net...

The first C-130 is USAF. The second two are RAF C-130.



The following video shows an RAF C-130. To the untrained eye you may think that the aicraft is unmarked. It carries tactical RAF roundels and also Royal Air Force markings in small tactical black.

As Spoor and Tommyjo said above, most likely a C-130.



An off chance is that it was The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Avro Lancaster...



Do either look familiar?

Originally posted by Thoriumisbest
reply to post by Cosmic911

 

Wow, you ever thought about doing standup? I'm laughing so hard I wet myself.

Not at all. Some of these threads provide all the humor one person can take!


But seriously, without taking offense, sometimes a low-flying unmarked 4 prop plane is just that. Ever hear the phrase, "Look for the horse." Now, if that low-flying unmarked 4 prop plane turned out to be a UFO, we would say, "Look for the zebra."

I would have loved to seen that neon blue glow though!