The Third of April, 2018 was a momentous day in Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s 23 year history, as the service officially unveiled its first wholly owned helicopter, which replaced one of the three leased aircraft.
The newly registered ‘G-OMAA’ EC135T2e aircraft was built by Eurocopter in Germany before receiving its medical equipment fit out at Bond Air Services in Staverton earlier in the year.
The £4.5 million helicopter undertook its maiden flight in late February from Bond Air Services to Midlands Air Ambulance’s RAF Cosford airbase in Shropshire where it has since been carrying out numerous helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) missions on a daily basis.
Previously, Midlands Air Ambulance had leased all three EC135 helicopters from Bond Air Services. The aircraft are based at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, Tatenhill in Staffordshire and Strensham in Worcestershire.
The service made a decision to replace the existing leased RAF Cosford aircraft with the brand new and wholly charity owned EC135T2e helicopter. The remaining two air ambulance helicopters will continue to be leased from Bond Air Services.