Ominous formation of black helicopters spotted over Toronto
It's easy to assume the worst after the year and a half we've had in Toronto. Still, a menacing formation of black helicopters spotted above the city on Tuesday afternoon proved to be nothing to worry about.
The fleet of five helicopters in a V formation was spotted and posted by various people across social media, with theories ranging from aerial gypsy moth control by the city (a method used last year but not in 2021) to some type of military operation.
Anyone else see these helicopters???
— Dan Levy (@TheDanLevy) August 17, 2021
~30 minutes ago… 🚁 🚁🚁🚁🚁randomly flying south over #NorthYork, #Toronto very much in V formation. Military? I dunno. Was super random though!
I know I’m near Downsview Airport but these came from the north & Downsview is to the west of me pic.twitter.com/Pdw2WbCGkT
A quick search of the air traffic tracking website FlightAware reveals that the group of helicopters are registered to Great Lakes Helicopter, a charter, sightseeing, flight training, and aerial work company operating out of Cambridge, Ontario.
The flight path took the formation on a 44-kilometre round-trip to and from Billy Bishop Airport, looping around Downsview Airport in the city's north end.
Wow! Beautiful formations this afternoon! #Toronto #TorontoBirds #Drones pic.twitter.com/l20eP0cTYg
— No Longer Tom Middleton (@TomJMiddleton) August 17, 2021
In a Reddit post showing footage of the flyover, user nelsonbute lays out three possible explanations for the flight, guessing that it was either part of an advertising shoot, a movie production, or a practice run for the upcoming 2021 Canadian International Air Show in early September.
Great Lakes Helicopter tells blogTO that the flight "was for a charter event specifically requested by one of our clients."
"We can move a fair amount of people to different locations very quickly and then help with events at the venue that you land at. We have several private venues that are exclusive to us and can certainly change what would normally be a standard event into something spectacular."
The company's Instagram feed features plenty of shots captured during visits to Toronto, indicating a regular presence in the city skies.
Victor B.
