Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore

Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore, formerly Bond Air Services, is an operator of air ambulance, police, and offshore windfarm helicopters in the UK. Babcock operates a mixed fleet of light twin-engined helicopters custom designed to perform specific and specialised tasks. It operates from 22 bases around the UK and in Ireland. It has maintenance facilities in Staverton and Glasgow.

Babcock
IndustryAviation
PredecessorBond Aviation Group
Headquarters
Gloucestershire Airport, Staverton, Gloucestershire
,
England
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
Rich Youngs, Managing Director
David Plester, CEO
ParentBabcock International
Websitewww.babcockinternational.com/what-we-do/aviation/emergency-services/

Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore is headquartered at Gloucestershire Airport, Staverton, Gloucestershire, which is also home to their training facilities.

Services

Babcock works in partnership with customers and aircraft manufacturers, providing bespoke design & completion services. This creates bespoke aircraft and accessories designed for specialised and mission-critical roles – from transporting infants to operating on live high-voltage wires.

In 2014, they were contracted by the National Police Air Service (NPAS) to upgrade seven EC135 T2 helicopters with new camera and mission systems technologies.

In 2015, Babcock took delivery of a Eurocopter EC145, ordered the previous year for use with the East Anglian Air Ambulance.[1] They have since taken delivery of another two H145's for the Scottish Ambulance Service. Others have since entered service with East Anglian Air Ambulance and Midlands Air Ambulance. In 2018, they began operating the Airbus Helicopters H135 T3+.[2]

Their training facility includes an EC135 training simulator (Level III FTD).[3]

Customers

Babcock operates a number of helicopters, including air ambulances around the UK and in Ireland, a police support helicopter for Police Scotland, and helicopter support for the renewables industry.[4]

Babcock provided night helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) with East Anglian Air Ambulance charity in 2013.

Prince William

In 2014, it was announced that Prince William, Duke of Cambridge would take on a full-time role as a pilot with Bond Air Services based at Cambridge Airport.[5] Although a qualified military pilot able to operate as a Sea King captain, William needed a civilian commercial pilot's licence and further training before starting operations for the East Anglian Air Ambulance. The Duke started operational flights on 13 July 2015 and continued until 2017. His salary was donated to charity.

Incidents
Main article: 2013 Glasgow helicopter crash

On 29 November 2013, G-SPAO, an EC135-T2+ operated on behalf of Police Scotland, crashed through the roof of the Clutha Vaults pub in Glasgow, killing all three people on board and seven in the building, and injuring 31 people.[6][7]

See also

References
  1. "Police Aviation News May 2016" (PDF). Police Aviation News. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  2. "H135 / EC135T3". helis.com. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  3. "Helicopter Training Services". Babcock. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  4. "Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore orders two H135s for UK windfarm contract". Helihub. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  5. Britain's Prince William to return to work as air ambulance pilot, ABC News Online, 8 August 2014
  6. "Helicopter crash in central Glasgow". STV. 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 30 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  7. "Police Helicopter Crashes Into Glasgow Pub Roof". Sky News. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
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