Helicopter Pilot (Martin Oldfield)

An unnamed helicopter pilot sprayed some of the paddocks at NY Estates with crop sprayer, organised by Joe Sugden in May 1982. Joe showed the helicopter pilot where to spray and asked that he also spray the top two fields at Emmerdale Farm. The cows in the paddock at Emmerdale Farm stampeded and Joe risked losing the job, with the pilot risking losing his licence. Henry Wilks pointed out that when the cows stampeded, the helicopter was spraying NY Estates land, putting Joe in the clear. Seth Armstrong and Jackie Merrick said they saw the helicopter flying low and believed it was also flying erratically. The pilot was subsequently put under investigation.