Council reports beach take-off aircraft to CAA

Both craft sped along the picturesque Downhill beauty spot on which even horse-riding is normally prohibited a few weeks ago.

Coleraine Borough Council - responsible for its upkeep and concerned for the safety of members of the public - expressed concern at the unauthorised landing and take-off.

Footage of the incident at Downhill was recently posted on the internet and shows a single propeller light aeroplane speeding past members of the public and parked cars before taking off in the direction of Londonderry.

Seconds later a second aircraft - a propeller powered hang glider - follows suit speeding past a car before also taking off.

The seven mile long strand - divided from Benone by the Umbra burn - is visited by tens of thousands of people every year and is extremely popular amongst the Londonderry public.

Coleraine Borough Council, which owns and manages the beach, doesn’t even allow horseriders to use it, never mind aeroplanes.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) aircraft can land on private property if permission is granted by the owners.

But when the Sentinel alerted Coleraine Borough Council to the incident it said no official request was received and that it was concerned about the footage given the close proximity of the vehicles to people and their pets.

A spokeswoman said: “Coleraine Borough Council maintains the beach at Downhill for public use and is extremely proud of this location.

“Members are concerned at the recent footage showing small aircraft departing from the beach where members of the public and their pets are in close proximity.

“This is being reported to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for further investigation as Council did not receive any requests to land, nor was any approval given.”