The crew of a helicopter that landed without permission in a Co. Sligo field were left grounded for some time after the landowner parked his tractor alongside it.
Johnny Kilcullen is a sheep farmer with land around the pier in Enniscrone, a popular seaside destination for visitors and tourists.
Last week, Kilcullen spotted a helicopter flying over the field, which he said was a common sight as the coast guard helicopter and private helicopters can often be spotted in the vicinity.
Meanewhile, on Wednesday, September 18, an ex-smuggling ship, the MV Shingle was being placed on the seabed at Killala Bay, to become Ireland’s very first artificial reef.
In 2014, the ship was seized by the Revenue Commissioners after 32 million smuggled cigarettes and 4.5t of tobacco were found on board with a potential loss of €14 million to the exchequer.
With his land overlooking the bay, Kilcullen planned to go and watch the sinking of the ship, but on Wednesday afternoon he spotted a helicopter in his field at 1:00p.m.
The field where the helicopter landed was where his store lambs were grazing on the day.
He contacted members of his own family to ask whether anyone had asked permission to land the helicopter there, but permission had not been sought from anyone.
Kilcullen then made the decision to head down to the helicopter in his tractor, and to park alongside it.
He pulled up in his Zetor tractor, and lifted his loader up closer to the helicopter blades.
When leaving the field, Kilcullen informed a garda that he left his mobile number inside his tractor if the owner of the helicopter wished to contact him.
“I went down and parked it to make a point. They should have asked. We have a saying in our house. What’s having is worth asking for,” he said.
The Sligo farmer then proceeded to watch the sinking of the ship in the bay, but having left his mobile details in his tractor, calls quickly began to come in.
One of these calls came from a garda who was in the field with the helicopter and tractor.
The garda told him that the crew from the helicopter were “pleading” with her for the tractor to be moved.
Kilcullen said that this crew were aiming to film the sinking of the ship and were eager to get in the air as soon as possible.
He then told the garda that if the crew were “really stuck” then they could open the back window of the tractor, let down the handbrake, and push it out of the way.
They then done exactly this, pushed the tractor away from the helicopter, and were airborne just after 3:30p.m.
‘I wouldn’t change anything now’
Reflecting on the incident, Kilcullen said he has had a positive from locals and the wider public.
Kilcullen said: “There’s people here I have never spoke to are speaking to me and telling me ‘you’re dead right’.
“I wouldn’t change anything now. If they want to land again, contact me. It’s a simple thing. It’s manners to ask.”
This was just one of the issues that comes with having a farm on the coast, as just earlier this week some of Kilcullen’s lambs were attacked and damaged by a dog belonging to visitors to the area.
“It’s just misfortunate where I am,” he explained.
When asked by Agriland how well the hydraulics in the front loader fared while parked, Kilcullen said there was no danger of it lowering.
“You can’t beat a little Zetor. They’re underrated,” he said.