Horsham games park owner's 'shock' at dark past of old helicopter on his land

Published 8th Aug 2023, 14:18 BST

Updated 8th Aug 2023, 14:19 BST

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A Horsham games park owner has spoken of his shock at discovering the dark history of an old helicopter used as a prop in shooting games.

Ross Beare, owner of Dogtag Airsoft gaming site at Holmbush Farm in Faygate, has had the shell of the helicopter on part of his 60-acre site for nearly 10 years. It is used by teams taking part in laser games.

But Ross has now discovered that the helicopter has a dark past – it is said to be among aircraft used by police at a detention camp in Chile in the 1970s where prisoners were flown over the ocean before being pushed out to their deaths into the water.

“I had no knowledge of it,” said Ross, who bought the helicopter in 2014 after a ‘bizarre phone call out of the blue’ asking him if he wanted to buy it. “To my mind, it was just a helicopter shell,” said Ross. “All I knew was that it had been used in the Chilean Air Force.”

The old Chilean helicopter has been used by game players at Dogtag Airsoft at Holmbush Farm, Faygate, for the past decade. Photo contributed

The old Chilean helicopter has been used by game players at Dogtag Airsoft at Holmbush Farm, Faygate, for the past decade. Photo contributed

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But he has no plans now to get rid of it. “Ultimately, it’s just a chunk of metal. You can’t blame a chunk of metal for anything. To my mind, as atrocious as what it was used for was, the past can’t be changed. And it was such a long time ago.

"At least now some sort of good has come out of it because people are getting some enjoyment out of it now. It is being used for good.”