A private departure for one of Diamond Executive Aviation's DA42 Twin Stars from Blackbushe in September turned into a media circus.

Film star Angelina Jolie and her son Maddox planned to combine some essential business related matters with a spot of aviation-based enjoyment, but this was somewhat compromised by the arrival of several cars full of paparazzi with their cameras. "Ms Jolie's flight had been carefully organised in great secrecy, or so we thought," said DEA's Peter Bondar.

Commanded by Chris Dawes, a senior line training captain with DEA, the flight departed early in the afternoon for an undisclosed destination and later returned to a different undisclosed airfield.

Jolie (pictured aboard the DA42) holds a US FAA private pilot licence and IR and owns a Cirrus SR22 G3.