The return of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance helicopter has been delayed after a part was damaged.
The life-saving Bell 429 aircraft has remained offline at Thruxton Airport in Hampshire since it arrived there for an annual service on 27 September.
A detailed examination of the helicopter uncovered a need for urgent maintenance. The charity also opted to bring planned maintenance work forward from 2024 to reduce the overall time offline.
However, a vital component that was ordered from abroad was found to have been damaged in transit – and now engineers must await a new delivery.
The charity originally said the aircraft would be back at base and ready to respond to life-threatening emergencies by mid-November.
In a statement, a Wiltshire Air Ambulance spokesperson said: “Unfortunately the final component essential to the completion of the helicopter’s maintenance sustained damage during transit and has been deemed unsuitable for use.
“Another part has been sourced and we now awaiting confirmation of when this will arrive in the UK.
“As soon as it is delivered, it will be installed as a matter of urgency before ground testing can begin in readiness to return our helicopter for HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) work.”
Unusually, the charity does not have access do a spare helicopter like most other air ambulance organisations in the UK. Instead they rely on blue light vehicles to respond to calls.
“Our critical care doctors and paramedics continue to respond to emergencies in our two critical care cars, and have been tasked to 160 missions during this annual service and maintenance period, an average of around three missions per day”, the spokesperson added.
“Additionally, we are supported by neighbouring air ambulances.”
