Devon Air Ambulance

The Devon Air Ambulance is an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of two helicopter air ambulances covering the county of Devon in the South West of England, United Kingdom. The helicopters are owned and run by the Devon Air Ambulance Trust, which is a registered charity, raising money from public donations in excess of £5.5m every year.

Devon Air Ambulance Trust was formed by Ann Thomas, in memory of her son, 18-year-old Ceri Thomas, who was fatally injured in a road traffic collision in 1986. At hospital, his mother learned that the quicker a patient receives hospital treatment, the greater that patient's chances of survival. Subsequently, she started a campaign to launch an air ambulance service for Devon.

The service went into operation on 27 August 1992, covering the entirety of the county of Devon, including the rural and inaccessible moors of Exmoor and Dartmoor. The trust currently operates two helicopters and can reach 50% of locations in Devon within 5 minutes of taking to the air, with remaining locations accessible within 20 minutes.

The trust currently owns and operates two aircraft, both Eurocopter EC135T2 models, although of different model years, from two different airfields, in order to maximise coverage of the county. Both helicopters fly for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. From late Autumn 2016 the Exeter based helicopter will fly into the hours of darkness, up to midnight, into one of a network of community night landing sites created across the county.

The Exeter based helicopter is located along with the National Police Aviation Service helicopter at Exeter International Airport. The aircraft is registered G-DAAN, and was purchased in 2008 for around £3.3m.

The North Devon based helicopter is located at Eaglescott Airfield, previously at Belle Vue Airfield, near Great Torrington. A new Eurocopter EC135P2+ entered service flying out of Eaglescott in September 2013; it is registered G-DVAA and replaces G-DAAT.

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