Flight delays and bad weather do not just impact the commoner, but also the Queen herself, Elizabeth II. Her Majesty found herself, like thousands of others, circling over London due to bad storms yesterday, with her private jet unable to land.
Fierce Flurry Of Rain Delays Private Jet Arrival Into London Of Queen Elizabeth II
The Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms was traveling from Balmoral, her Scottish estate, to London ahead of Platinum Jubilee celebrations set to take place this week to commemorate her 70 years on the throne.
Her 13-seat private jet, a Embraer ERJ-135BJ aircraft (registration LX-TRO), took off Aberdeen just after 1:00PM, itself delayed due to rain there. As her flight approached London, pilots encountered rain, hail, and an electrical storm.
The jet used by Queen Elizabeth attempted to land at RAF Northolt, a Royal Air Force station about six miles north of London Heathrow, but had to pull back into the air and began circling.
After allowing the storm to clear, the aircraft successfully landed. From RAF Northholt, Her Majesty was driven via Range Rover to Windsor Castle.
CONCLUSION
Hail, rain, thunder, and lightning may have delayed her landing, but the Queen is now safety back in England as the nation prepares to honor her tomorrow. Stay tuned for more details on this, as Live and Let’s Fly tracks this monumental event.
image: Craig Shepheard, Demotix
I live in West London and I can tell you we had a helluva hail storm yesterday
Weather in England is probably the worst I ever experienced. You rarely see the sun in that place.
Wait, the Queen uses a Brazilian aircraft as her private jet? Who knew!
Embraer is top. They are masters in mid size jets. They are located in a town that has one of the most prestigious engineering schools in the world.
Not only that but the jet is not even registered in the UK
Good eye. I don’t know why but I find that quite interesting.
As one of the richest persons in the world why not have a private strip? As a figurehead ruler of a country why can’t she land at a military base?