Helicopter In the words of the Second Doctor , a helicopter was a " primitive form of flying machine " . They were also known as choppers and " whirly birds " . The Fourth Doctor found a design of a helicopter in the laboratory of Leonardo da Vinci , in 1505 , and commented that the idea " took a bit longer to catch on " . ( TV : " City of Death " ) Jamie McCrimmon , who was from 1746 , could not recognise one in 2018 . ( TV : " The Enemy of the World " ) They were frequently used on Earth by the military , as they didn ' t need runways to land or take off . 20th century . On 22 December 1963 , the Swiss mountain patrol sent a helicopter to evacuate Miss Tremayne ' s school when Lt Peter Sandoz did not report in ; however , Peril Bellamy ' s telekinesis was activated , turning the wind into a cyclone which crashed the copter and killed the pilot . ( AUDIO : " Winter for the Adept " ) In 1968 , Victoria Waterfield was kidnapped by the seaweed - possessed John Robson in one of Euro Sea Gas ' s helicopters , and the Second Doctor and Jamie McCrimmon were flown out to Rig D in another in order to rescue her . After appropriating Robson ' s helicopter to enable him and his companions to escape from the rig , the Doctor mentioned once they were in the air that he had learnt how to fly a helicopter by watching Astrid Ferrier , but also pointed out that he wasn ' t sure how to land it . ( TV : " Fury from the Deep " ) UNIT troops used a helicopter to rescue the Second Doctor ' s party from the International Electromatics factory . ( TV : " The Invasion " ) In the 1970s , Brigadier Lethbridge - Stewart had his own personal helicopter , which was used by Captain Mike Yates and Sergeant Benton to fly to Devil ' s End . It was destroyed when it struck Azal ' s heat barrier , which was surrounding the village , killing Tom Girton , who had stolen it . ( TV : " The Dæmons " ) John Hart telephoned for an air sea rescue helicopter to be sent out to find the Third Doctor and Jo Grant . ( TV : " The Sea Devils " ) An RAF helicopter was used to carry out a bombing raid on the disused mine in Llanfairfach to kill the giant maggots created by the pollutants from Global Chemicals . ( TV : " The Green Death " ) A UNIT helicopter flew over Emmett ' s Electronics as part of Sergeant Benton ' s armed patrols around the factory . ( TV : " Robot " ) The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith travelled to Antarctica by helicopter . ( TV : " The Seeds of Doom " ) On another occasion , while investigating the cause of the disappearance of an oil rig , Sarah was in a helicopter that ditched in the North Sea . ( COMIC : " The Sinister Sea " ) In 1997 , Flight Lieutenant Lavel piloted a helicopter to transport Brigadier Lethbridge - Stewart to Carbury . It was shot down by Morgaine . ( TV : " Battlefield " ) In 1999 , Iris Wildthyme knew how to fly a helicopter . ( AUDIO : " The Panda Invasion " ) 21st century . Mathew O ' Hara of the Butler Institute took a helicopter to and from work . The United Nations had a remote - controlled helicopter called an Odin . ( PROSE : " " ) On 1 January 2008 , Byron , his men and Madeleine Fairweather took a helicopter to the SS " Batavia " . ( AUDIO : " The Girl Who Never Was " ) Joshua Naismith sent a helicopter filled with troops to kidnap the Master and take him to his mansion . ( TV : " The End of Time " ) In 2011 , helicopters frequently patrolled the area surrounding Gwen Cooper ' s house in Wales . This aroused her suspicions as she was in hiding , but Rhys Williams passed it off as army practice . Following " Miracle Day " , an armed helicopter was sent to kill her . Gwen destroyed it with a bazooka after a short chase . ( TV : " The New World " ) In 2012 , Henry van Statten had a personal helicopter with the call sign Bad Wolf One . ( TV : " Dalek " ) In the same year , the " Fortitude " sent a helicopter to rescue members of an Antarctic expedition . The Seventh Doctor used it to return to the Ice Warrior s . ( AUDIO : " Frozen Time " ) In 2018 , Astrid Ferrier had her own helicopter , which exploded , killing Rod and Curly , after its fuel tank was earlier punctured by the thugs ' own bullets . ( TV : " The Enemy of the World " ) UNIT mentioned dropping a Shakri cube out of a helicopter at 10 , 000 feet to test their incredible strength . ( TV : " The Power of Three " ) On one occasion , UNIT noticed the Doctor ' s TARDIS standing in a field . Seeking his assistance with a mystery in the Under - Gallery , they picked it up with a helicopter to transport it back to headquarters . Unbeknownst to them however , the Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswald were on board at the time . The Doctor crossly called Kate Lethbridge - Stewart from the TARDIS , as the helicopter flew them over London . Kate apologised and had the machine and its occupants brought directly to the " scene of the crime " at the National Gallery . ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " ) At some point in the 2020s , Lysandra Aristedes taught Sally Morgan to fly a helicopter . ( AUDIO : " Signs and Wonders " ) 22nd century . In the 2090s , Susan Campbell was granted the Presidential helicopter to go and find her son Alex who had been imprisoned . ( AUDIO : " An Earthly Child " ) At the beginning of the second Dalek invasion of Earth of the century , a helicopter brought Lucie Miller , along with Alex Campbell , from Thailand to a hospital in Singapore . ( AUDIO : " Lucie Miller