Air Ambulance crew told 'you can't park here'...
 

It's in the Mail. Must be true... :ugh:

Mind you, he did tidy the litter out as he landed...!:}

Was said saleswoman wearing a yellow vest, helmet and safety boots? Did she approach said helicopter with the rotors still running?

If not, then she was indeed in mortal danger.

UK at it's best. Time for Brexit.

and the 135 was there why??

No emergency doctor?

skadi

Wont be the first woman to tell a bloke where he cant park his chopper.

I dont know anything about landing helicopters but isn't landing amongst loose building materials risky? you can see debris in the air on the video?

Yes, not the best choice (but probably the closest) of landing sites. Builders are an untidy bunch generally and you could end up with all sorts of rubbish being blown up into the rotors.

A chance of debris everywhere these days, balanced risks

135 - I didn't see a 135?

Without seeing the LZ from the air, it is difficult to determine if the "very professional pilot" had any alternative approach paths. On 'most' occasions, HEMS pilots choose well, but not always.:uhoh:

The one he/she finally selected did, however look precarious and if the donk stopped over the top of those rooftops, I wonder how his/her defence would survive scrutiny in a coroners court.

IE: Flying in to save one life but losing several if the helo lands on a house.

Yes but no one is allowed on a persimmon or most all building sites without CSCS card ,full PPE,and a site induction
She was correct in her actions and backed up by the site owners but surely there should be some common sense in a emergency
Sometimes the ELF in safety gets it all totally wrong

Maybe if the site manager was the patient and the pilot had landed half a mile away 'for safety's sake' Persimmon would have moaned about that?
mmitch.

It's that red helicopter that looks like a 135 parked on the grass at the start and end of the video (or is it a 145T2 - too brief to see well).

Definitely a 135

skadi

Single patient in an urban environment with a non trauma history. Why not send the land ambulance that then transported him to hospital?

I havent a clue whether there was anywhere else to land but landing in a building site with all that debris was at best controversial

Having been involved with building sites, the fines for allowing people on site without proper PPE and the prosecutions under COSH are no laughing matter. Removing the barriers may constitute an immediate violation. Why not use the gate or entrance the lorries used?? And I suspect the Courts will pay no heed to the fact that the helicopter was from a charity. Then there may have been constructions in progress that got damaged by the downdraft / hull / crew. I wouldnt have wanted to be the employee who had not objected.....

Roll of drums!:D:D:D

Wow I am amazed a some of the comments from what I assume are aviators.

As a HEMS Pilot I can tell you without a doubt the crews main consideration would have been selecting a safe landing area. The fact the the article didn't describe that a helicopter had been grounded due to FOD or that it had caused havoc with flying debris inuring people might just indicate that the landing site was appropriate. In a HEMS operation you really do not have a lot of time to make a decision on where the best place to land is. Most of the time its a matter of getting the aircraft on the ground safely but with as little delay as is possible. Every landing site is hostile and the crew are probably pretty good at assessing and balancing those risks. Now I'm not saying that they chose the best spot however cardiac arrest is one of the few situations where minutes really do matter. A couple of sheets of dry wall are not worth a human life.

As for removing barriers luckily in my part of the world there is a very sensible law that states emergency services can remove or cut any fence, barrier or gate if needed. Any costs of repair are covered by the government. One would hope that UK would also have this type of law.

What I find typical are the actions of this Health and Safety Lady. If the site was so unsafe wouldn't her best actions have been to organise an escort for the medic so they can safely get to the patient. Perhaps work to ensure the area around the helicopter is safe and that any lose items are stowed for the departure. Instead she tried to stop medical attention been given to a patient. Like so many others in Her profession it would appear that safety is something you tick on a clip board with very little relevance to the real world, something I find indefensible.

Where did you find the cardiac arrest SLFMS? I see a claim of a heart attack although no definitive diagnosis from the hospital

I suspect in Australia you are talking about significant distances but the main ambulance station is less than 3 miles away. Not only that but the Persimmon site on google maps is next door to.....open ground and a golf course. The Daily Mail (must be correct) reports they sent two helicopters for one man, but then shunted him off to Coventry.....in the land ambulance

Sorry, my six penny worth is with the woman

Hargreaves99,

You are quite correct, I could, but out of respect for the crew concerned, the patient, the customer (the charity who the HEMS is provided for) and to some extent even the lady concerned and her employer, I am not going to.

Things I have learned though from doing this for a while now, not everything is at it first seems, some things are, but not all and that probably applies to all operators and crews of aircraft like this and the videos they are seen in, and the subsequent media frenzies afterwards.

Gary

Homonculus, luckily your sixpenneth worth means nothing.
What you arrive to is often not what you were launched to. Better to arrive and not be needed than the other way around.