Oxford, U.K., 4 April 2014

 

One of the United Kingdom’s busiest medical airlift providers – Midlands Air Ambulance Charity – has put its newest rotorcraft in operation: an Airbus Helicopters EC135 T2e, becoming the first fully-owned fleet member for this regional charity organisation.

 

At a public launch event held yesterday at Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s RAF Cosford airbase in Wolverhampton, Hanna Sebright, the chief executive, stated: “This is a momentous milestone in Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s 23 year history.”

The new EC135 will enable a further extension of Midlands Air Ambulance’s airlift services beyond the current daylight operations.

 
Based at the Royal Air Force base in Cosford, Shropshire, the EC135 T2e will be maintained and operated by Bond Air Services, which also leases and operates two other EC135s to Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

“Our new EC135 T2e will help us to save more lives, as it provides the opportunity to expand our service and deliver the best possible patient care to those we airlift,” said Hanna Sebright. “Its acquisition was entirely funded through public donations, underscoring the incredible support our vital life-saving service receives from local Midlands’ communities and businesses.”

The EC135 T2e is an evolved version of Airbus Helicopters’ twin-engine EC135 workhorse, providing an increased maximum takeoff weight of up to 2,950 kg. Overall, Airbus Helicopters’ EC135 is one of the world’s leading rotorcraft for emergency medical services, with more than 500 delivered in aeromedical configurations.

“Midlands Air Ambulances Charity’s selection of the EC135 T2e is another strong endorsement for the EC135 in the United Kingdom and for emergency medical airlift operations in particular,” added Markus Steinke, managing director of the Airbus Helicopters’ helicopter hub in the UK. “It joins a fleet of 50 EC135 serving as the nation’s backbone of the national resilience fleet tasked with highly demanding missions in search, surveillance, casualty evacuation and crime prevention.”