Police Aviation News April 2011

Police Aviation News April 2011 11
the [BK117] aircraft to Cambridge Airport, the EAAA CEO leaving, them buying engines to
prop up the deal with Sterling... Sterling dropping off the radar... and taking the 117s with
them so that EAAA are now in Bolkows. The status of the engine parts the charity purchased
for their BK117 helicopters has not been clarified recently.
Anyway despite the row Magpas still exist and fly in the Cambridgeshire MD902 Explorer G-
CMBS, an airframe it is said that has just a year to survive before NPAS removes it from
service.
And yet late last month that same craft and its Magpas medics was over in Norfolk undertaking
two 'out of hours' emergency medical flights - the first to take a trained doctor to a
burned child. He may subsequently have travelled by land ambulance to Addenbrookes but
how else would a doctor from Cambridge get to Norfolk in time? The second was a fatal accident
where the survivor was treated to stabilise him and accompany the injured to hospital.
When the Explorer goes it would seem that the regions out of hours air ambulance
cover goes too.
While Magpas might seem to be able to lick a finger and signify that they got 'one up' overall
in the EAAA row there are underlying worries over the situation. In a year not only will this
out of hours regional air facility go but there are signs that Magpas are being shunned by
the local health authority as well.