The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Flight in Wessex
Further to the item sent in by Kenny Hanlin regarding the Wessex helicopter, Ruth Gordon has emailed some information.
“I was a passenger on the Wessex that landed near Rattray in 1984,” she says. “It more or less crash-landed as it had iced up. It had been sent to the Glenshee ski centre to evacuate skiers caught up in bad weather when the roads were closed after snow drifted.
“I was there with my husband and my late son Stuart, who had cystic fibrosis, and because we would have had to spend the night in our car, we were taken to the ski centre so that Stuart could have physiotherapy. Next morning it was decided to include him in those to be evacuated by helicopter to Ninewells Hospital and because he was a minor, I went with him.
“It was an interesting experience, but quite scary when the aircraft suddenly plunged what seemed like a few hundred feet and shortly after we landed in a snow-covered field near Blairgowrie. A farmer appeared shouting the odds at the crew for landing in his field!
“Shortly after, another Wessex arrived to pick us up but, despite being given directions we were at one o’clock, it missed us the first time which was really funny. One would have thought a bright yellow helicopter would be obvious on the ground.
“Stuart was checked over at hospital and discharged. I don’t know about the others.
“A few days later, I heard a Chinook flying near our home in Tayport and there was the Wessex hanging underneath it on its way back to RAF Leuchars for what were, I believe, quite extensive engine repairs. The neighbours’ dog was barking as it always did when a Chinook flew past – no other aircraft bothered it.”