Langley residents, RCMP, and local airport officials are trying to solve a minor mystery – why did a plane circle the City for an hour after midnight late Friday and early Saturday?
On March 22 and 23, residents began calling the Langley RCMP about a plane that had been circling for some time.
There were multiple calls about the small aircraft, which was above Langley City for about an hour after midnight, said Cpl. Craig van Herk, a spokesperson for the Langley RCMP.
The Mounties checked in with NavCanada, which regulates aircraft and air traffic control towers in Canada, and determined that the NavCanada was aware of the craft, said van Herk.
“The actions were not illegal,” so the RCMP closed the file, said van Herk.
The plane was apparently flying at 2,400 feet, van Herk said.
The Langley Regional Airport’s runway lights were off at the time, and airport manager Carol Madill said as far as she wasn’t aware of a plane taking off that late.
“They should not have come from here,” she said.
She’s been looking into the matter after receiving multiple calls herself about the mystery plane.
The Pitt Meadows Airport did track the aircraft for part of its looping course, said Derek Brown, office services coordinator at the airport.
He said the aircraft was a Cessna 172 and it looped as far north as 80th Avenue at times.
After circling for a while, it headed off south and then east just after 1:10 a.m. on Saturday, March 23.
It didn’t come from Pitt Meadows either, said Brown.
