Yorkshire Air Ambulance unveils new helicopter

Yorkshire Air Ambulance has unveiled its new state-of-the-art helicopter.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance has unveiled its new helicopterYorkshire Air Ambulance has unveiled its new helicopter
Yorkshire Air Ambulance has unveiled its new helicopter

Yorkshire Air Ambulance has unveiled its new state-of-the-art helicopter.

The rapid response emergency service is replacing both its current ageing aircraft – G-SASH and G-

SEMS – with the latest generation Airbus H145 helicopter.

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It will become fully operational later this summer following a full medical fit-out and crew training.

A second H145 has been ordered from Airbus and will be in service by Spring 2017.

The new helicopters - each costing £6 million - will have lower operational and maintenance costs.

They are also capable of flying at night, allowing longer flying hours.

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Yorkshire Air Ambulance chairman, Peter Sunderland, said: “This really is a landmark day for the charity and for Yorkshire.

"This amazing new helicopter is the result of the hard work and dedication of the tremendous team we have at the charity and the wonderful generosity of the people of Yorkshire.

“This helicopter belongs to the people of Yorkshire and will do for the next 20 to 25 years. I am very proud to say we now have a level of service which is probably the best of any air ambulance charity in the UK.”

Clinical operations manager, Pete Vallance, said: “The open cabin allows clinicians to have full access to the patient inflight and we have future-proofed the specialized medical equipment that is being fitted.

“We believe we have now got the best aircraft and the best equipment available to enable us to provide top-level clinical care across Yorkshire for many years to come.”