Prince William's air ambulance nearly misses deadly crash

Meanwhile, media started speculation that this might be the reason behind William's announcement to stop piloting helicopters for air ambulance charity this summer.

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Prince William and Kate Middleton
Britain's Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, pose for photographers with the Eiffel tower in background after being welcomed by school children and students from the British Council's Somme project at the Trocadero square, in Paris, France, March 18, 2017. Reuters

The Future King of English Monarch, Prince William, seems to have cheated death in a near-miss event. A report published by the UK Airprox Board has revealed that air ambulance regularly piloted by the royal scion "narrowly avoided" a collision with a remote-controlled drone on 26 August. Luckily, the Duke of Cambridge was not in the chopper at the time of the incident.

"A four-bladed quadcopter drone 1,900 feet above London passed within 30 meters (98 feet) of a Eurocopter 145 helicopter carrying a pilot and multiple medical crew members on Aug. 26," the report stated. Meanwhile, media started speculation that this might be the reason behind William's announcement to stop piloting helicopters for air ambulance charity this summer.

The Airprox further said in the report that the drone—operated over a built-up area without CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) permission—was above the altitude where it could be considered in the direct unaided line of sight and, if using FPV (first-person view), was above the 1000ft allowed by regulation.

"Whether a near-collision of the helicopter he regularly pilots and a drone above London last summer played a role in that decision is something only William — and maybe the Duchess of Cambridge — knows. This is not the sort of thing you tell your grandma," Fox News Opined. The drone pilot was never found, the report said.

Meanwhile, Prince William seems to be facing tough times in his personal life too. Vanity Fair has reported that his wife Kate is highly upset with William's video leaks from his ski trip in France. In the series of videos, he was seen dancing and flirting with an Australian model. To add more fury, the 34-year-old royal is the poorest working royal. In this year, he has carried out only 13 days of royal engagements while his sick grandmother has 24 days of official duties.

William and Kate have always been the point of controversy when it comes to fulfilling their royal responsibilities. Last year, William and Kate were the less worked royal with Prince Harry taking away the most worked royal.

This article was first published on March 28, 2017