This website uses cookies for anonymised analytics and for account authentication. See our privacy and cookies policies for more information.





The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance involved in near miss with a glider

This news post is over 6 years old
 

The charity has said it is reviewing the findings of a report into the incident

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance was involved in a near miss with a glider earlier this year.

The pilot of the craft, which assists medical emergencies across Scotland, described the risk of colliding with the glider as "high".

A UK Airprox Board report revealed that the two aircraft came within 200m of each other near Perth, when the helicopter was returning to base having dropped a patient off in Glasgow.

The report said that the craft had been operating in uncontrolled airspace without a collision warning system, and sight of the other aircraft was obscured by a windscreen pillar.

“That being said, although it was a late sighting, he (the pilot) did see the other aircraft in time to take avoiding action, albeit achieving less separation than would be desirable,” the report added.

Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance chief executive David Craig said: "We are currently reviewing the report and the observations and recommendations contained within it.

"I am meeting with our aviation providers Babcock Mission Critical Services (Onshore) Ltd. later this week to determine what steps, if any, we should be taking in response to this incident and the report findings."

The charity was founded in 2013 and since then has responded to 1469 emergency callouts.