Police Aviation News January 2012

Police Aviation News January 2012 14
WALES: Wales Air Ambulance’s Swansea
based air ambulance attended its 8,000 th mission
on the 28 th November 2012.
The service has now been in operation for 11
years from Fairwood Airport, Swansea, starting
as a 5 day service which was launched on
St David’s Day 2001. Wales Air Ambulance
has since expanded to having three helicopters
across Wales which are on active duty 7
days a week.
As a whole service, Wales Air Ambulance has
attended more than 16,500 incidents all
across Wales.
The Swansea based helicopter’s 8,000 th mission
was a call out to attend a female patient
who had been struck by a bus in Barry and
sustained serious head injuries.
The 8000 Mission
©WAA
YORKSHIRE: The Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) is breaking new ground in the UK Air
Ambulance industry having just become the first Air Ambulance operation in the UK to apply
for and obtain their own Air Operators Certificate (AOC).
The Yorkshire based charity, which owns and operates two MD 902 Explorers, took a year
to produce and submit the complex application. Much against general opinion the Civil Aviation
Authority (CAA) have granted and approved the YAA to operate under their own AOC.
Bruce Burns, Vice-Chairman of the YAA commented “We are all so proud of this achievement!
It has taken so much hard work by our team for us to be able to achieve our own
AOC, in particular our Chief Pilot, Captain Andy Lister who alongside myself, as the Accountable
Manager, compiled and coordinated the application.