Irish farmer stands his ground after helicopter lands on his field
24th September 2024
An Irish farmer became famous for standing his ground after a helicopter landed on his field without permission.
Irish media reported that last week a helicopter landed on Johnny Kilcullen’s field while his livestock was grazing there.
This prompted the Enniscrone farmer to park his tractor in front of the aircraft to prevent it from taking off.
The private helicopter landed on the field as the pilot hoped to get aerial footage of the sinking of the MV Shingle ship in Killala Bay.
Worth asking
While talking to Mayo-based radio station, MidWest Radio, Mr Kilcullen said: “What’s worth having is worth asking for”.
He added that a few days before the ship was sunk, he had witnessed the chopper “doing a recce”, and on Wednesday, 18th September, the day of the sinking, he saw that the helicopter had landed in his field close to the pier in Enniscrone, without making any contact with him.
“To land on private property, in an emergency you can do nothing about it, but private craft landings have to ask.
“As far as I know, they have to notify the gardaí too, and the customs. There’s a whole protocol to follow,” the farmer continued.
Mr Kilcullen then contacted the gardaí and gave them the helicopter’s registration number.
He won't land there again 😅
— Mick 🇮🇪 (@MichaelK_Kelly) September 22, 2024
A Robinson R44 landed in a farmers field in Enniscrone Co. Sligo without permission,
The farmer blocked the rotor blades with his tractor 💪😅
Entitled knobs thinking they can do what they like 🙄#Ireland #sligo #helicopter #farmer #iaa pic.twitter.com/RMwuFHxvkC
James Bond helicopter
Irish media report that the farmer decided to park his Zetor 4×4 tractor alongside the chopper which “looked like a James Bond helicopter”.
The farmer drove his machine down to the field and put the loader bucket up into the air so the pilot was not able to simply fly away.
He left his phone number on a post-it note on the seat of the helicopter. Then, when Mr Kilcullen was on a boat to view the historical sinking of the MV Shingle, his phone started ringing.
He said the helicopter crew claimed that they had landed in the wrong field.
After a few more calls, the farmer told a garda that if they needed to get the chopper out, they could open its back window and push the tractor out of the way.
A group of men did just that, which can be seen in videos that went viral.
He won't land there again 😅
— Mick 🇮🇪 (@MichaelK_Kelly) September 22, 2024
A Robinson R44 landed in a farmers field in Enniscrone Co. Sligo without permission,
The farmer blocked the rotor blades with his tractor 💪😅
Entitled knobs thinking they can do what they like 🙄#Ireland #sligo #helicopter #farmer #iaa pic.twitter.com/RMwuFHxvkC
Mr Kilcullen told the media: “If I didn’t take that stand, they’d have just got in the helicopter and flew off.
“And the feeling of everyone is that I did the right thing. No matter how much money you have, you should still have the courtesy to ask for something.”
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