Wrexham Without Air Ambulance Cover As Helicopters Grounded

Wrexham is currently without its own air ambulance cover as helicopters nationwide have been grounded due to safety fears.

It is understood that a 20 year old mid Wales air ambulance helicopter is currently covering the whole of the country as the North and South Wales helicopters are out of action.

Bond Air Services has grounded all 22 Eurocopter EC 135 helicopters used across the UK due to concerns over cracks in rotor blades.

The helicopter model is used by both the North and South Wales air ambulance services as well as those in Scotland and other parts of the UK.

It has left only the mid Wales helicopter covering the whole of Wales.

Bond Air Services took the decision to ground the model after a safety notice was issued by Eurocopter on Sunday.

Bond said that whilst the notice did not advise the grounding of the helicopters they had taken the decision in the interests of safety until a solution is found.

They are currently awaiting further comment from manufacturer Eurocopter on its investigation to identify the cause of the cracks.

A spokesperson for Wales Air Ambulance said: “The safety of patients and air crew is absolutely paramount at both Wales Air Ambulance (WAA) and Bond Air Services and we therefore respect Bond’s decision to suspend flights on these grounds. No faults have been found in any of our fleet at Wales Air Ambulance.

“WAA is still operational in Wales with the use of its third helicopter, which is a different model and not subject to the investigation. This aircraft is currently operating on extended hours to optimise its coverage across Wales.

“Wales Air Ambulance has engineers stationed at each of our three airbases across Wales, who carry out safety checks after every flight as normal procedure.”

Update: Wednesday morning

All of the air ambulances are now back in use after Bond held discussions with manufacturer Eurocopter and decided that flights could resume on Wednesday morning.