F-GYED

Information

This aircraft is used as a temporary stand-in EMS helicopter in Värmland County while waiting for a permanent regional helicopter acquisition process to be finalized.

History
The helicopter was originally constructed by Eurocopter Deutschland and delivered to the Finnish company Copterline Oy in 2005. It spent its first time as EMS helicopter "SEPE" in Oulu (replacing OH-HCH), northern Finland, before it was stored in Helsinki. It was used for various commercial operations, and was eventually leased to Heliportugal in order to participate in a Portuguese EMS acquisition tender in 2008.

OH-HCL came to French Helicap in 2009, and it was subsequently deployed in EMS operations for the emergency medical service in France (SAMU) at various locations throughout the country.

Sweden
F-GYED came to Sweden in mid June 2014. It was leased by Svensk Luftambulans, a local federation that is shared by Värmland's County Council and Dalarna's County Council. The EC 135 serves as a temporary stand-in aircraft while waiting for a new tender for the permanent helicopter to be finalized.

The unit got its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in August 2014, and it started its HEMS operations on 22 August. The first mission for the helicopter was to transport a patient from Sunne to the hospital in Karlstad.

The helicopter was operating from a temporary HEMS station at Karlstad Airport, where it functioned in an intensive-care unit that consisted of one helicopter and one specially equipped emergency response car. One pilot, one anaesthetist and one HEMS crew member was manning the unit in a 24-hour alert.

Svensk Luftambulans got its first Airbus H145s in late 2015, subsequently replacing the temporary EC135. The helicopter was returned to France in December 2015.