Residents in Cornwall have been left baffled after seeing a huge plane flying back and forth over Cornwall. The Basler BT-67 plane, which is being flown by Edinburgh-based surveying company Bell Geospace, was spotted flying in straight lines at an average height of 200 meters over the county yesterday (January 2).
It has become all the buzz on social media around a swathe of Cornwall as it is being used to collect data which will be used to create geological maps. These maps could then potentially be utilised for assessing geothermal energy and lithium mining prospects in Cornwall. The survey map indicates that the areas of St Agnes, Perranporth, St Ives, Redruth, Truro, Falmouth and Helston will be covered, but the plane may also be visible elsewhere during its turnaround.
According to Bell Geospace, the survey work started in December and was anticipated to last for a period of two to three weeks to ensure there were eight days of favourable weather conditions for flying. The company said flights would typically occur during daylight hours, for up to five hours a day, with departures from Newquay airport shortly after sunrise.
The company assured that the survey would be passive, with no signals or sound waves involved, and local parishes, farms, and horse centres have been informed.
Flight Radar shows the Bell Geospace plane flying back and forth over Cornwall
(Image: Flight Radar)
In February last year, residents were puzzled as a plane from a surveillance company was spotted flying back and forth over Cornwall for hours during the night. The Cessna craft, owned by Reconnaissance Ventures Ltd (RVL Group), was seen criss-crossing the sky over much of the county on the evening of March 27.
RVL Aviation Group, a private specialist aviation company known for carrying out airborne delivery of chemical dispersants on oil spills at sea for various public and private sector clients, confirmed at the time that the flight over Cornwall was conducting survey work.
The firm reassured that all its mapping and survey flights comply fully with all relevant regulations as issued by the UK civil aviation authorities. However, it did not disclose who it was conducting the work for.
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