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| Bond Air Services emergency helicopters back in air after grounding | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Emergency services helicopters are back in the air after being grounded due to safety fears following the fatal Glasgow crash. | Emergency services helicopters are back in the air after being grounded due to safety fears following the fatal Glasgow crash. |
| Bond Air Services had suspended flights on all 22 of its EC 135s - the same model which crashed into the roof of the Clutha pub, killing 10 people - after a fault was found on Wednesday. | Bond Air Services had suspended flights on all 22 of its EC 135s - the same model which crashed into the roof of the Clutha pub, killing 10 people - after a fault was found on Wednesday. |
| UK ambulance services were affected. | UK ambulance services were affected. |
| Bond Air Services said that aircraft confirmed as having "no fault" would return to service. | Bond Air Services said that aircraft confirmed as having "no fault" would return to service. |
| The National Police Air Service did not ground any aircraft. | |
| 'Temporarily suspended' | 'Temporarily suspended' |
| Bond Air Services said its fleet had been grounded as a "precautionary measure". | |
| A statement read: "Following an issue with the fuel indication system on one of our aircraft yesterday we temporarily suspended service operations whilst we undertook further technical investigations of our fleet of EC 135s." | |
| It added: "We will continue to work with the manufacturer Eurocopter on any aircraft which are found with this fault, with the aim of resuming normal service as soon as it is safe to do so." | It added: "We will continue to work with the manufacturer Eurocopter on any aircraft which are found with this fault, with the aim of resuming normal service as soon as it is safe to do so." |
| Eurocopter said the decision taken by Bond did not apply to the rest of the Eurocopter fleet in the UK - a total of 57 aircraft. | |
| The areas affected included Dorset, Somerset, Thames Valley, the Isle of Wight, the Midlands, Scotland and Wales: | The areas affected included Dorset, Somerset, Thames Valley, the Isle of Wight, the Midlands, Scotland and Wales: |
| A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said Bond's decision had been a "voluntary action by the operator". | |
| "There is no official regulatory grounding of the type of helicopter so they are still free to fly if the operators wish to. | |
| "If there were an official grounding, that would come from the European Aviation Safety Agency." | |
| Inquiry call | |
| Ch Supt Ian Whitehouse, chief operating officer of the National Police Air Service, said it had no plans to ground aircraft. | |
| He added: "In light of the technical issue identified by Bond Air Services, as a precautionary measure, we are increasing fuel levels on all NPAS EC 135 aircraft and increasing the minimum level of fuel which pilots are allowed to operate on." | |
| Following the decision to ground the aircraft, the British Airline Pilots' Association has called for a review into how helicopter operations are regulated. | Following the decision to ground the aircraft, the British Airline Pilots' Association has called for a review into how helicopter operations are regulated. |
| "Pilots are looking to the regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority and European Aviation Safety Agency to take charge and provide the industry with the information that has informed the decision to ground the Bond EC 135 fleet," a statement read. | |
| "Flight safety is best served when there is transparency and openness and these developments leave everyone asking 'Why?'. | "Flight safety is best served when there is transparency and openness and these developments leave everyone asking 'Why?'. |
| "This grounding confirms our belief that a fundamental review about how helicopter operations are regulated is needed; a point we will be making forcefully to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee in their upcoming helicopter safety inquiry." | "This grounding confirms our belief that a fundamental review about how helicopter operations are regulated is needed; a point we will be making forcefully to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee in their upcoming helicopter safety inquiry." |
| The RMT union, meanwhile, has called for a full public inquiry into helicopter safety, both inshore and offshore. | |
| "All of those workers using the helicopters, whether they be offshore, police, ambulance, coastguard or any other industry, have a right to know that their place of work is safe and that means establishing the full facts as an absolute matter of urgency," general secretary Bob Crow said. | |
| A total of 30 police helicopters and 36 air ambulances operate across the UK. |