In response to a number of articles in the media today regarding an issue with a Scottish Air Ambulance EC135 helicopter, we can confirm that Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance was unaffected by the issue.
The following press statement issued by Bond Air Services was released after a crack was found on a rotor of a Scottish Air Ambulance. Approximately 1,000 EC135 models worldwide were inspected approximately a month ago including the Dorset and Somerset Air ambulance which was instantly given the all clear.
Bill Sivewright, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Chief Executive Officer has been interviewed by BBC Radio Somerset today, highlighting the process in place when such a safety check arises.Â
PRESS STATEMENT FROM BOND AIR SERVICES READS:
Upon detecting a crack on the lower hub shaft flange during a scheduled maintenance check on one of our EC135 helicopters, we followed our Safety Plan and immediately notified Eurocopter, the manufacturer of the aircraft and our client, the Scottish Ambulance Service.
 As a company committed to the highest levels of safety, a special check of all our EC135s was immediately carried out before their next flight without a further finding. Eurocopter also promptly initiated a worldwide EC135 fleet inspection (fleet in excess of 1000 helicopters) which has confirmed this is up to now the only occurrence across the worldwide fleet in over 2.3 million flight hours since the first helicopter was manufactured over 15 years ago.
The main rotor shaft was removed and returned to Eurocopter immediately, who are continuing their in-depth engineering and laboratory investigation in to the cause of the crack. A new main rotor shaft has been fitted to the aircraft which has returned to service for the Scottish Ambulance Service. We continue to work closely with Eurocopter to identify the exact cause of this crack. In the meantime we wish to assure users of our aircraft that our fleet of EC135s are inspected in accordance with the latest directives from the manufacturer and EASA since the crack was detected and therefore continue to meet the highest levels of safety.
