Wendy WilliamsTHE midnight mystery of a low flying Costa del Sol fighter jet, that left expats fearing it was going to crash, has deepened.
An ex-military pilot has insisted the aircraft must have been offering military assistance to civilian authorities for illegal criminal activity such as shadowing drugs, terrorists or other criminals.
“The helicopter could have been Police National back up,” insisted Steve.
“No pilot in his right mind would fly low and at night in mountainous area for fun or to show off.”
Meanwhile, Geoff Jones, a resident of the Costa de Sol who witnessed the unidentified aircraft flying ‘erratically’ at low level between Marbella and Sotogrande around 5am on Easter Sunday, insisted someone needed to get to the bottom of it.
“Night exercise by any military flying operations are not authorised over built up areas, day or night,” he added.
Expat forums have since filled with conspiracy theories as to the pilot’s motives, while local radio stations and the Olive Press newsroom have been inundated with calls.
Some believe the aircraft could be one of the new Eurofighters that are assembled near Marbella.
Other theories included the possibility that it was one of four Spanish F-18s previously involved in the Libya conflict, from the nearby US air base at Moron de la Frontera.
There have also been suggestions that there were in fact more than one plane.
“I am sure there was more than one jet, plus later on, there was a propeller plane,” insisted Tom MacLaren.
“The noise from the planes was very loud, so I don’t know how anyone in Estepona slept through it.
“It felt like we were under attack!”
When contacted by the Olive Press, a spokesman for Malaga Airport’s operations centre said: “We can’t give any information about those types of flights.”
When pushed as to the reason why, the spokesman declined to comment.
A spokesman for Gibraltar Airport said they were not aware of the incident as Gibraltar air space – which is only open from 8am to 9pm – was closed at the time.
I too was woken at 5 am on Easter Sunday and the first noise I heard, which came in very low over Benahavis village was like a jet coming in to crash. It was a eerily humming sound, nothing I have ever witnessed before. May I add that I am married to an Ex-Military man and we have lived on various Air Bases in UK and abroad.I have heard a Tornado crashing in Akrotiri/ Limassol Bay in Cyprus, almost twenty years ago, so I know what a plane crashing sounds like.
I actually saw at least one fighter jet and could hear at least three others, followed by a Helicopter. The whole espisode went on for over half an hour.
A friend who lives in the centre of village and slightly higher than our house, witnessed the whole show and what she saw apart from the Fighter Jets, can not be explained. The object she saw was Cigar shaped and gold in colour, with two bright orbs. This object was slow moving and hovered over the Mountains and then moved away at great speed.
If it was a Military exercise, why were they flying so close to Populated area’s? Or is there another explanation that perhaps the object wasn’t from this Planet, ET has flown home!!
Now alison that really is fascinating… can you email us your number so we can investigate further… jon@theolivepress.es or call 951166060 and ask for news desk.
J.C. : Oh boy, you’ve opened the door to the little green men. Never mind, should be fun…
Thought I was going bonkers!
I live right on the beach between Sotogrande and Estepona… At first I thought it was a storm then realised the air and sea were still… Then saw the lights in the sky from at least 1 jet and 2 helicopters.
The noise was not only incredibly loud but also faded in and out quite oddly.
After spending many years living on and near military bases and on the edge of Salisbury plain I am accustomed to hearing non commercial air traffic.
There was definitely something very ‘off’ and erratic about it all even for military exercises!
Regardless of whatever was behind it all? It was all WAY too close for comfort!
I read in another local newspaper yesterday that police seized over a tonne of cannabis after a chase in the Bay of Gibraltar on Easter Sunday. Two Spaniards arrested. Wonder if the two are related? I was surprised that there was no mention of the plane incident in the other paper!
The mystery deepens “http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Fighter-jet-drama-Bath/story-15794375-detail/story.html” .
Looks like the thing Alison saw was also seen in the UK over Bath yesterday night. Definitely worth a closer look.
This was from andaluz tv
Ciudadanos asustados contactan con andaluz.tv
Ruidos de aviones desconocidos en la costa
Ciudadanos asustados contactan con andaluz.tv Noticias Andaluz TV
Fuente: Bundeswehr
Eran las 05H00 de la mañana cuando el primer mensaje de texto fue recibido por el móvil de andaluz.tv. Entre las 05H00 y 05H55 de la mañana se ha registrado al oeste de Marbella un ruido constante. La causa, vuelos de aviones de combate.
¿Cuál puede ser la razón por la que aviones de combate vuelen sobre la costa oeste de Marbella durante una hora, siendo Domingo de Resurrección y las 05H00 de la mañana?
andaluz.tv contacta con las diferentes administraciones:
Guardia Civil: “Ya hemos recibido varias llamadas, pero no sabemos nada”
Base Militar de Málaga: “No sabemos nada”
Policía Local de Marbella: “Hay muchos ciudadanos preocupados que nos han contactado, solo hemos podido averiguar que se trata de vuelos autorizados, pero más no sabemos!”
I was staying with family on El Pariso (Beach side) and I too was woken by a loud jet aircraft noise at 04:50am on Easter Sunday. This fazed in and out at 5 to 10 minuet intervals until around 05:30am. During the quiet intervals a helicopter or turboprop aircraft could be heard in the distance.
The jet noise sounded like that of the reverse thrust of a jet landing with periods of silence in between!
I did get up and look out to sea but could see nothing, the noise by then (05.10am) however appeared to be coming from in-land and towards Estepona as opposed to overhead or at sea!
Cannot understand why Spanish local and national papers are not mentioning this as here in the UK today sky news and the BBC are running stories regarding a jet fighter which allegedly broke the sound barrier over Bath, again, in strange circumstances and with no comment from the RAF etc!
My husband and I also witnessed something very strange. At 4.30 I heard a really loud noise, which at first I put down to an aeroplane passing, but it did not seem to move away. The noise stopped but then a short time later was there again, just instantly loud, not like anything moving. My husband and I then spent the next ten minutes on our roof terrace (Sabinillas) watching a long shape made up of orange/red lights, moving in all directions across the sky, as well as hovering and seeming to move up and down. The noise kept coming and going but without any fading in and out. There were no other lights or craft in the sky although towards the end we could hear a helicopter. The craft eventually moved off to the Estepona area and I went back to bed, but a few minutes later I heard the noise again and rushed out to see the lights again off in the distance over Estepona. We told friends and relatives the next day but could find no trace of it anywhere, but now with your article it has brought it all so vividly back.