I am beyond caring whether the Colonel is happy or not today, I've done what I had to do to get my children to safety and if he doesn’t like it, that’s his problem.
Just as I touch the radio control before I have a chance to do anything, my ears are filled with a voice coming through.
"Unidentified aircraft, this is RAF Heathrow, identify yourself, over"
Dan and I look at each other as if to say to each other, Here We Go!
"Receiving, Heathrow. This is," I quickly look for the Lynx's serial number, "XC345, we have five passengers, one injured and request an immediate landing slot, over."
"Received XC345, standby."
The radio goes silent and Dan and I look at each other again, both of us suddenly realising that we may have a problem; we are, after all, flying a hijacked helicopter.
"XC345, you are not cleared to land. You are showing as Rogue, change course or you will be fired upon, over."
Dan now looks at me with concern.
"Heathrow, this is Captain Andrew Richards, Military Intelligence, under the orders of Colonel Reed. We have military personnel on board, one injured, needing immediate medical attention and we have vital information for Colonel Reed. We are going to land, please confirm, over." I give them the full treatment.
"Standby," is all we get back from the flight controller.
“That should do it,” Dan jokes to me, sarcastically.
“We will be cleared to land once they have spoken to Reed,” I say confidently.
As we wait for a response from Heathrow, we leave the Thames River behind us, the M4 motorway visible away to our right. It has its lights still working and guides us towards Heathrow, which we can now see shining in the distance directly in front of us.
Josh and Alice are now fully alert behind Dan and me, having heard the communications with Heathrow through their headphones. I give them a thumbs-up in reassurance and ask Josh how his arm is feeling. He says it is feeling better, just aching a bit.
Time passes and our anxiety increases as we get closer to Heathrow; if they don’t clear us to land it could have dire consequences. We continue to wait in silence, then eventually we hear it.
"XC345, Heathrow, receiving, over?"
"XC345, receiving," I reply.
"XC345, Colonel Reed is not on site and we have been unable to contact him. I have, however, been given permission to land you. Proceed to the following landing coordinates. Do not exit your aircraft until you are cleared to do so by the ground staff....."
The relief inside the Lynx is obvious, the ground controller proceeding to give us our landing coordinates, which is just as well because we are now closing in on the perimeter of the sprawling airport and Dan has started to descend.
Dan is now under the direction of the Air Traffic Control and he follows their instructions as we approach RAF Heathrow.
The airport has two parallel runways running east to west and they are both lit up down their long lengths by their runway lights. The runways are some distance apart and separated by terminal buildings situated between them. Our Lynx is flying towards the airport in the centre of the two runways which snake away from us into the distance, with one either side of us. Aircraft are landing at regular intervals on both runways, but we haven’t seen one take off yet. We can’t see what type of planes they are; all we can see are the landing lights approaching and then landing. But my guess is they are mostly—if not all—military transport planes bringing in both troops and hardware.
Before we make the perimeter fences that surround the airport, Dan—under the direction of the air traffic controller—turns left slightly, then straightens up whilst also slowing his airspeed.
We are close enough to see the perimeter fences and the very heavy military presence positioned just inside, guarding the perimeter. Challenger tanks are clearly visible at regular intervals, set back in the grounds of the airport, inside the fences. Surface-to-air missile batteries are there too, pointing up to the sky, at least one pointing in the direction we have just approached from. In front of the tanks and missiles, sandbagged machine gun posts have been set up and then right by the fences, numerous troops are patrolling up and down their sections of the fence.
Away to the right, there is construction being carried out right on the perimeter, with various lorries and JCBs moving under the bright work lights that have been erected over the area. An army of workmen moves busily under the lights; it’s hard to be sure from this distance, but it looks like the perimeter fence is being replaced and turned into a wall, and a high wall at that. The powers that be are taking no risks of the airport been compromised.
We are coming in from the London side where the trouble is, but my guess is that the whole perimeter of Heathrow airport is just as well-guarded and will all have a wall around it very soon.
Now closing in on the flight path of the South Runway, we are told to slow down further, and it is soon apparent why. A massive C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft lifts off in front of us; it’s a United States Air Force or USAF craft, markings clearly visible. It’s amazing how such a huge piece of machinery can defy gravity, but it takes off easily, lifting off into the night sky.
Our speed picks up again and we pass the South Runway on our right, and Dan carries on following the airport's perimeter around. One of Heathrow’s large terminals is also on our right now and a mix of both passenger and military planes are parked up against it. All of the planes, you can bet, are in military use. Down to our left is one of the large carparks that surround the airport. It’s filled with military vehicles of all descriptions, apart from at one end of
