Sighting record / 1973

The Derbyshire and Cheshire Phantom Helicopter

September 1973 · Buxton, Chatsworth House, Hathersage (Derbyshire) and Jodrell Bank (Cheshire), England, United Kingdom

52Partially documented UAP Other 13 sources

September 1973. Late at night, a security guard at a quarry near Buxton watched a helicopter hover about fifty feet above the quarry floor, spotlights shining down. When he drove toward it, it rose slowly and flew away. It was only the beginning. Through the winter, police stations in Derbyshire and Cheshire filled with reports of a low-flying machine working the hills in the early hours. Sometimes without lights. Sometimes sweeping pylons with a searchlight. Special Branch feared the IRA. A secret conference met at the Home Office. Then the trail went cold. The helicopter and its pilot were never identified.

▶ Narrate · Pro

Key facts

When	September 1973 to 1974
Time of day	late at night and in the early hours
Where	Buxton, Chatsworth House, Hathersage (Derbyshire) and Jodrell Bank (Cheshire), England,United Kingdom
Duration	months (a wave), September 1973 to about March 1974
Witnesses	27
Witness roles	police,other
Found	radar,multiple sensors,declassified documents
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	Derbyshire CID,Metropolitan Police Special Branch,Home Office intelligence conference (March 1974),MI5 briefing
Status	undisputed

The object

A conventional small helicopter, identified by two police officers as a Bell 206A Jet Ranger. It flew in the early hours, sometimes without lights, sometimes with spotlights or a searchlight picking out pylons and hillsides. It hovered about fifty feet over a quarry floor, swooped as low as 100ft and made apparent landings.

Altitude	about 15 m
Sound	other sound
Motion	hovered, vertical climb or drop, landed or touched down

Context

Britain, 1973. On 31 October the IRA used a helicopter in an escape from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin. In early 1974, IRA gunmen "successfully used hijacked helicopters". Then the reports began.

Sources (13, most influential first)

Phantom Copters (Secret Files) · David Clarke · Research organisation · blog
On the trail of the phantom copter · David Clarke· 2015-01-21 · Research organisation · blog
Phantom helicopter secret IRA pilot · Daily Mirror· 2015-01 · Press, book, documentary · news
'IRA chopper' spotted over Derbyshire in 1970s, new documents show · Derbyshire Times · Press, book, documentary · news
'IRA chopper' spotted over Derbyshire in 1970s, new documents show · The Star · Press, book, documentary · news

Reputability

52/100Partially documented

Keywords

People

Simon CroweQuarry security guard near Buxton, first named witness
John WarwickerSpecial Branch Det Chief Supt and helicopter pilot who assessed the reports in June 1974
David ClarkeResearcher who obtained the Special Branch file and interviewed Crowe
Alex ParkerEx-Army pilot who flew the Daily Mirror reconnaissance
Ed MacauleyDaily Mirror reporter on the reconnaissance flight
George OldfieldPolice officer told by an informant of IRA helicopter target practice
John CohenManchester University professor who called it a visual epidemic
Nick RedfernAuthor who wrote about the case in 2021

Names

David Clarke Jenny Randles Nick Redfern Daily Mirror