Patients rescued by Wiltshire Air Ambulance were reunited with the crew members who saved them at the unveiling of its new £5 million helicopter.

The state-of-the-art Bell 429 – the first of its kind to operate as an air ambulance in the UK – arrived in Wiltshire on Friday, before an expectant crowd in Salisbury.

The aircraft, in the distinctive yellow and green of Wiltshire Air Ambulance (WAA), did a spot turn before touching down on the lawn at Trafalgar Park.

Among those waiting were Sadia Chant, 40, from Chippen-ham, whose son Max was airlifted by WAA after a car crash on his way to school in Yatton Keynell.

She said to Matt Baskerville, the paramedic who came to his rescue: “Every time I look at my son I am thankful you were there at his time of need. That day you didn’t just save Max but also us.”

When Mr Baskerville arrived on the scene in May this year, he was faced with five child patients and, only being able to fit one child and one parent in the aircraft, he had to make the call which it would be.

He is thankful he chose Max and said: “When we got to the hospital the surgeon cut into his back and could actually move his spine. He said if Max hadn’t gone in the helicopter, which is a smoother ride than by road, things could have been very different for him.”

The new helicopter, which he said was an even smoother ride still, was officially welcomed to the county by Sarah Rose Troughton, the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, who said: “I am delighted to mark this new and exciting chapter for the charity.

“It has been on 15,000 missions since it entered service in 1990, and saved the lives of hundreds of people across Wiltshire.”

She thanked Wiltshire Police for their 24-year partnership with the joint air ambulance and surveillance helicopter, which comes to an end this December, and for allowing the new Bell 429 to continue to operate from Devizes Police HQ for the next three years until a suitable site elsewhere can be found.

Sebastien Moulin, regional manager Europe of Bell Helicopter, said: “We are extremely proud to be the new partner of Wiltshire Air Ambulance.”

Paramedics and pilots begin new training next month. By next spring they will have had adequate training to start flying after dark as well as during the day.

FACT FILE

  • Operational from January 1, 2015
  • Top speed 180mph, compared with current 161mph
  • Can scramble in two minutes and reach anywhere in the county within nine 
  • Max cruise speed 173mph, compared with current 154mph 
  • Cost to remain operational: £6,850 a day 
  • Can carry two clinical staff, compared with one paramedic and a police observer 
  • Twin engine with combined deliverable power of 1,100 horse power 
  • Fuel capacity of 821 litres