A McDonald’s fly through!
AIR AMBULANCE PILOTS TAKE A BREAK AS NEW £6M HELICOPTER BREAKS DOWN
WHEN a brand new £6m air ambulance broke down after landing beside a McDonald’s, the pilots couldn’t resist the temptation to pop in for a snack and a hot drink.
The Lincolnshire air ambulance pilots took a well-deserved break after their six week old helicopter developed a fault after arriving at an incident on the A46 Grimsby Road in Laceby.
They had been called at around 2pm yesterday to reports of a person knocked down and injured. With the patient safely off to hospital and not thought to be seriously injured, the pilots prepared to return to their base in Lincoln.
But they had to abandon their return flight when their Italian-build Leonardo A169 developed a technical fault.
And as they waited for an engineer to arrive, one of the pilots popped across to the nearby McDonald’s near Laceby Morrisons returning a few minutes later with some snacks and hot drinks.
Meanwhile a taxi arrived to collect medical equipment and paramedics on the crew.
The stranded helicopter soon attracted attention from members of the public with people stopping to take pictures and families going over to look.
The Leonardo helicopter is just six weeks old, being first registered on August 31 when it was delivered to the Lincs and Notts air ambulance based near Lincoln.
The air ambulances provide lifesaving work across the region regularly flying patients to hospitals saving precious time compared to road ambulances.
One witness said: “You have to feel sorry for the pilots. They do a great job and the last thing they want to be doing is sitting in their helicopter in a field.
“The guys must have been peckish and popped over to McDonald’s for some snacks. There wasn’t much else they could do while they were waiting for an engineer to arrive to try to sort the problem. He arrived after a bit and was looking at the engine.
“Families were coming over to have a look at the helicopter and take pictures. It’s not often you see a helicopter parked beside the road so it was quite an attraction.”