Two drunk soldiers caught having sex in Apache helicopter by stunned army personnel

Ground crew had finished a night time servicing of the £8.5million AH-64 gunship when they noticed the rotors on the helicopter were swaying up and down and strange noises were coming from inside

Stunned army personnel discovered two soldiers having sex in the cockpit of an Apache attack helicopter during routine maintenance.

Ground crew had finished a night time servicing of the £8.5million AH-64 gunship belonging to the Army Air Corps when they noticed something unusual.

As the maintenance personnel approached the chopper, which is armed with a 30mm cannon and Hellfire missiles, realised that the rotors on the helicopter were swaying up and down and strange noises were coming from inside.

The crew, who had been on their way to fit rain covers over the war machine following its service, got closer and realised to their disbelief that two people were crammed into the rear cockpit of the two-seater aircraft having sex.

The mechanics were shocked to find the man and woman, believed to have been drunk, half naked inside the aircraft.

A report to the Military Aviation Authority said: “It became apparent that the rear ­cockpit was occupied by two people engaged in sexual intercourse. Both were naked from the waist down — the male in uniform, the female in civilian attire. They were ordered to exit the cockpit and get dressed. Both parties were serving soldiers. Both showed symptoms of intoxication.”

The chopper the pair were caught in was part of the Army Air Corps’ 653 Squadron but the two soldiers are thought to have been from a different unit, the Royal Artillery.

The safety report, which has recently come to light thanks to a computer glitch, said: “They were detained until the chain of command of 653 Squadron and their parent unit arrived.”

The incident took place at the Otterburn range in Northumberland in 2016 but has only just become public, the Sun reports. A source told reporters that air crew had been ordered to secure helicopters in future to prevent a repeat incident.

Otterburn Range is the second largest live firing range in the country and has been used for military training since 1911. It covers over 90 square miles.