Cocky pilot

A local government officer from Dudley, United Kingdom, considers himself lucky despite losing his manhood to cancer.

Paul Lucas, 40, underwent a penectomy after doctors discovered a tumor in his foreskin in 2022, shortly after his wedding, the New York Post (NYP) reported, citing Hype Press.

Although the loss was difficult to accept, his 38-year-old wife stood by him, and doctors declared him cancer-free in July 2023. Last year, he was offered a chance to undergo penile reconstruction.

In March 2026, surgeons at University College Hospital used skin and tissue from his left forearm to construct a new penis and urethra, the NYP reported.

The nine-hour operation also involved transferring nerves and an artery from his arm and connecting them to the remaining nerves and blood vessels in the genital area.

Lucas has since regained his sex life, although another operation is scheduled for the spring or summer of 2027.

Meanwhile, a police helicopter crew in England found itself the subject of an embarrassing flight-path controversy on 2 November.

The National Police Air Service (NPAS), which provides aerial support to police forces across England and Wales, deployed a helicopter at around 11 p.m. to search for a vehicle that had ignored a police order to stop.

The helicopter’s noise woke the two-year-old daughter of Fleet, Hampshire, resident Gordon Bird. The 53-year-old father checked the aircraft’s flight-tracking data on his computer and noticed something unusual.

According to UPI, the helicopter’s route appeared to resemble a rather familiar shape in the sky over Hampshire.

The NPAS told the BBC that the flight path was unintentional and that the aircraft had been conducting a legitimate operation in support of Thames Valley Police.

The agency added that its helicopters do not follow fixed routes, as their movements depend on changing and unpredictable developments on the ground.

A case, perhaps, of an innocent flight taking an unfortunate turn.