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'Friendly' ambulance pilot Prince William surprises locals during small-town rescue mission

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Prince William wascalled into action on Thursday, as he flew his air ambulance to a car accident scene in the small town of Braintree, Essex, in England. Local newspaper the Essex Chronicle, which also has video of the Prince taking off in the chopper, reports that the second-in-line to the British throne piloted the large emergencyhelicopter to a nearby field, before attending the scene of thecrash.

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Prince William flew his emergency helicopter to a car accident in Essex Photo: Getty Images

Upon hearing thatPrince William was the helicopter pilot, employees from the local veterinarypractice came out to see if they could spot Prince George's father.Katie Gates, a deputy nurse at the practice told the Chronicle:“[The handyman] went round to have a look at what was going on. Thepilot got out to make sure he didn't come too close to the helicopter forsafety reasons.

“He said PrinceWilliam was so 'normal' and professional that it took him a minute ortwo to realize where he knew him from – as you can imagine we don'toften very often get royalty in Braintree!"

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Onlookers who waited to see Prince William were impressed by his 'professional yet friendly' approach Photo: Getty Images

The onlookers weretaken aback by the royal's down-to-earth behavior, “[We] were soimpressed by how professional yet friendly he was,” Katieconcluded.

Prince Williamreturned to his job as a helicopter pilot for the East Anglia airambulance service in July, after his paternity leave for PrincessCharlotte's birth.

The father-of-twoworks 80 hours per month – or 20 hours per week – as a pilot. He takes part in a four days on, four days off rotation, which averages 8.5 hours per shift. These shifts allow the 33-year-old to fulfillhis royal and parental duties.

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