‘Drunk’ British Army Men Discovered Half-Naked During Maintenance

A pair of ‘drunk’ British soldiers were caught in the middle of some extracurricular activities in the cockpit of an Apache attack helicopter. The bizarre incident was filed in 2016 but only became public in a recent report.

The chopper, which belongs to the Army Air Corps 653 Squadron, was grounded at the Northumberland Otterburn range for a routine maintenance event. Ground crews had completed the aircraft’s check-up and were on their way to put weather covers over it when they noticed some strange noises and movements. They discovered a male and female from a different unit, the Royal Artillery, in the aircraft’s rear cockpit.

“It became apparent that the rear cockpit was occupied by two people engaged in sexual intercourse,” the report stated. “Both were naked from the waist down — the male in uniform, the female in civilian attire. They were ordered to exit the cockpit and get dressed. Both parties were serving soldiers. Both showed symptoms of intoxication.”

Both of the soldiers redressed and were detained to wait for their respective commanding officers, though it is unclear what happened to them next. The incident only became public after its associated Military Aviation Authority safety report got leaked in a computer glitch.

The unusual incident was something of a wake-up call for British Army authorities. Regulators enforced new rules that require crews to be more careful when securing unattended aircraft. Though similar guidelines were already in place, they were clearly not strict enough to prevent situations as strange and unexpected as this.

The particular gunship involved is worth around £8.5 million, or $11 million USD. It is a heavily armed chopper stocked with a 30 mm cannon and Hellfire missiles.

FMI: www.army.mod.uk