24 Apr 2025
Welcome to the crew
We have recently welcomed some new pilots to EAAA through our aviation partner, Babcock International Group (Babcock).
Captain Luke and Co-pilots Sam and Alex will be flying the Anglia One (Norwich) helicopter. In doing so, they will bring their expertise to the crew based at Helimed House, EAAA’s Norwich Headquarters. We are also pleased to welcome back former Cambridge co-pilot, Captain Dan, to EAAA. Captain Dan has previously flown with EAAA and returns to the crew as a touring pilot; this means he can cover emergency taskings by air from either EAAA’s Norwich or Cambridge base.
EAAA’s H145 helicopters are flown by a crew of two pilots. They, and their engineers and operational support staff are provided by EAAA’s aviation partner Babcock. The entire crew, pilots and clinicians, support each other and work in unison to reach patients in urgent need of critical care as quickly and safely as possible.
All pilots, co-pilots and engineers who work with EAAA, including Captains Dan and Luke and Co-pilots Sam and Alex, are highly skilled aviators. They come from a mixture of backgrounds; military (Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force) and civilian (Police, VIP, offshore oil and gas etc). This gives us a broad mix of experience which is essential in the dynamic environment of Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) taskings where the flying is dynamic, and the crew never know where they may be tasked next.
“It’s great to be back with EAAA’s aviation partner, Babcock, as a touring pilot, flying EAAA medical teams to patients in need, 24/7,” Captain Dan says. “The flying is reactive therefore it can be challenging, but we work as a great team with the purpose of getting EAAA doctors and critical care paramedics to the side of patients as quickly and safely as possible. It’s a great privilege to do this role.”
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Captain Luke has been a pilot for 22 years, all with the RAF until he joined Babcock recently to fly HEMS tasks with EAAA. He says, “The role with EAAA is one I will really enjoy and find it very rewarding. I previously flew medical evacuation missions in Afghanistan, and this was some of the most rewarding flying I did.”
Norwich Co-pilot Sam began flight training in 2019, and launched his aviation career flying offshore from Aberdeen, where he spent three years before joining EAAA. He’s passionate about the impact HEMS has and says, “It’s a privilege to work in HEMS and be part of such a vital cause.”
Co-pilot Alex also began flight training in 2019 and began his commercial flying career as an instructor teaching basic flight training before joining Babcock two months ago.
Alex says, “It’s great to be part of such an experienced team and to be able to fulfil my childhood dream of being a HEMS pilot.”
Training for pilots, who are new to flying HEMS tasks with EAAA, depends on their previous experience. Once they have completed their day and night Type Rating training, this is normally followed by a minimum of three months consolidation in HEMS.
After consolidating in HEMS for three months with EAAA and Babcock, pilots are eligible to commence night vision training, which consists of multiple flying assessments, using specialist night vision equipment. EAAA started flying 24/7 on 30 June 2021, becoming the first air ambulance in the East of England to do so.
Flying at night presents many more risks than flying in daylight so all pilots with EAAA undertake this significant additional training in order to use night vision equipment. This makes hazards and obstacles easier to identify by amplifying the light the crew would normally see and helps to keep crew, patients and bystanders safe.
EAAA Aviation Advisor, Alan Ward, says, “The charity and Babcock have exceptionally high standards when it comes to personnel, training and safety. Taskings by air routinely include challenging landing and take-off sites where expertise, knowledge and safety are key.”
“We are privileged to have highly skilled and passionate aviators at EAAA, and we are delighted to welcome Captains Dan and Luke, and Co-pilots Sam and Alex to the EAAA crew as they take their next steps in their HEMS careers.”
