Great North Air Ambulance Service

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is an English charity based in the United Kingdom. It provides air ambulance services across the North of England from the Scottish border south to North Yorkshire in the east and Cumbria in the west. It currently operates three helicopters, one near Penrith, Cumbria and two at Durham Tees Valley Airport. A third aircraft was introduced in autumn 2011, a Bolkow Bo 105 based at Otterburn Army Camp Northumberland having been officially retired in February 2010, having been off line since the previous spring. All three aircraft introduced into service during 2010 and 2011 are owned by the charity, previous aircraft being leased. The three helicopters are Dauphin Eurocopter AS 365 N2's G-NHAA and G-NHAB. They are managed and crewed by Multiflight Ltd. who were in May 2011 awarded a 5-year contract. Multiflight are based at Leeds Bradford Airport. However G-NHAB replaced G-HEMS at Langwathby on expiration of its lease. The charity remained committed to providing three aircraft on its website. A third AS 365 N2 was registered by Multiflight as G-NHAC on 27 April 2011 and handed over to the charity on 28 September 2011. The airframe is a 1996 Build N2, formerly VP-BEO and purchased from Savback Helicopters in Sweden. Currently G-NHAC is based at Langwathby while G-NHAB is on maintenance, according to website /www.ukemergencyaviation.co.uk/ on 1 October. The same website also carries an update dated 11 October that Multiflight are to rerole AS365 Dauphin N1 G-CEYU as a spare aircraft for Great North Air Ambulance - the service has now bought this aircraft.