26 Jun 2025
Captain Dave bids a fond farewell to flying HEMs taskings
A Touring Pilot who flies with EAAA completed his final Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) flying shift with the charity on 21 June. Upon reaching the age of 65, the regulatory upper age limit for Commercial Air Transport pilots in the UK, Captain Dave, EAAA Pilot and Type Rating Examiner with EAAA’s aviation partner Babcock International Group (Babcock), will now continue his distinguished 40-year career by training the next generation of HEMS pilots.
Captain Dave joined the charity in 2003 after spending 24 years in the military and police aviation. His knowledge and skills saw him become a Type Rating Instructor and a Type Rating Examiner, and he has continued with this alongside his HEMS Touring Pilot role. Following Captain Dave’s retirement from flying air ambulances, he will now solely focus on guiding pilots new to HEMS and EAAA through their line training, teaching them how to employ the aircraft in the HEMS role ready to fly EAAA clinicians to some of the region’s most seriously ill and injured people.
There have been many memorable moments for Captain Dave during his HEMS career. He was one of the pilots who supported His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales through his training with Babcock and EAAA when Captain Wales flew HEMS taskings with the charity from 2015-2017. In February 2024, Captain Dave marked the impressive milestone of 10,000 flying hours. Many of these hours were flying HEMS tasks. He also delivered the first H135 and the first H145 (G-HEMC) into Cambridge for EAAA, and was part of the crew for G-HEMC’s first tasking to a patient and subsequent transfer by air to the helipad on the roof of the Royal London Hospital.
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Some people wouldn’t be here today without EAAA pilots taking the skills, medicine and equipment out to the incident site. During my time flying HEMS taskings with EAAA, I have seen some people in real dire straits and, as a team, we’ve been able to have an impact on their outcome. I am going to miss that aspect in an enormous way.
— Captain Dave
EAAA treats in the region of 2,000 people every year. From road traffic collisions to cardiac arrests to medical emergencies, the charity’s specialist doctors, critical care paramedics and pilots bring the advanced skills, equipment and medicine – normally only found in a specialist emergency department – directly to the patient’s side in the fastest time possible.Dave also saw EAAA’s transition to 24/7 flying, carrying out night shifts as part of the Anglia One (Norwich) crew. Having used Night Vision Imaging Systems (NVIS) in the military, he was already highly experienced in using NVIS, which includes Night Vision Goggles, to safely lift and land the aircraft.
“It is such a wonderful ability to be able to carry out jobs to critically unwell people at night,” he says. “Landing the helicopter in a small space at night at 3am is equally as awe inspiring. Taskings during the night have given me a great deal of job satisfaction, but nothing rivals completing them as part of a team.”
Captain Dave will still be flying as part of his Instructor and Examiner role, which also includes classroom and simulator training for new HEMS pilots.
He adds, “Flying is in my blood – it’s my passion. While I’m unable to carry passengers I don’t ever see me not flying.”
“I’ve been fortunate that, since a young age, flying has been my life’s ambition. I’ve no idea how many take offs and landing I’ve done over 40 plus years, but it has been an utter joy. I wish I could steal some time and start all over again. I don’t have the words to describe my HEMS career, other than it’s been a big team effort – and it’s been superb.”
Matthew Jones, EAAA Chief Executive, says, “Thank you to Captain Dave for his contribution to, not only EAAA over the years, but to our many patients, their families and communities across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and beyond. Thanks to Dave’s skills and expertise, alongside those of EAAA’s clinical crew, many hundreds of people have been given the best chance of survival and recovery, and many families are still together today.”
