We had recently featured Wiltshire medical flight services when the Duchess of Cornwall had inaugurated one of its branches. However, in a sudden turn of events, the air ambulance company has had to stop its medical flight services, at least temporarily. It all began when Heli Charter that operates the air ambulance charity’s chopper, a Bell 429, went bankrupt and voluntarily liquidated its business last Monday. The firm had been operating Wiltshire Medical Flight’s air ambulances since the year 2014. The charity, as a matter of fact, does not have its own air operator certificate and was relying on Heli Charter for this purpose.
Safety of Medical Flight Services was also a Concern
Wiltshire Medical Flight Services had also grounded one of its air ambulances earlier this month. The reason behind this was that one of its pilots had run some tests on it and the results were not as expected. The helicopter was immediately grounded following this incident, owing to safety concerns. The pilot had not lost the control of the air ambulance at any point of time during the test. The organization is currently awaiting the results of the analysis it had run post the event.
Contingency Plans are in Place Reveals the Air Ambulance Charity
A spokesperson of the charitable organization said that they have a well thought out contingency plan in place. It will continue to respond to emergencies making use of its two rapid response vehicles. It was revealed that these vehicles carry the same specialized equipment that the air ambulance carries. The organization is also planning to acquire its own air operator certificate. In fact, the process is already on. In the mean time, for situations that demand air ambulances specifically, it is taking help of medical flight services from neighboring areas for the time being.
