The emergency helipad at Addenbrookes Regional Hospital in Cambridge UK was destroyed when an Osprey aircraft from nearby RAF Lakenheath took off and spread the ground mats over the landscape.

https://www.aol.co.uk/news/hos...ed-us-162220333.html

Note also that a strop of some kind fell off the airframe at 0:28.

The nearest emergency helipad is a Cambridge airport, which means that high-risk patients flown in by the more usual Cambridge Air ambulance [formerly piloted by Prince William, BTW] will have to land there and use a road ambulance right through the centre of a medieval city with a tangle of busy streets.

Let's hope it gets fixed quickly.

Here's a much better video, the damage takes place during takeoff at the end of the 3:10 video:

https://youtu.be/ObfdLy-QlsU

What got blown over appears to be rubber like a very large door mat. One of the better comments to the video:

"You know, there's an excellent material known as concrete that just might remedy the problem. Yoga mats and duct tape typically don't perform well in an aviation environment."

Another article:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-w...-a-hospitals-helipad

That video is bonkers. I hope the helipad is restored to service soon.

I was about to say “damn that must have been a HUGE bird” but then I thought about it for a minute.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
One of the better comments to the video:

"You know, there's an excellent material known as concrete that just might remedy the problem. Yoga mats and duct tape typically don't perform well in an aviation environment."

True statement there....Funny, but True!

So the Osprey landed on the grass next to the "pad", but a medical helicopter couldn't do the same?

And why is a hospital using a temporary pad over grass in the first place? Even our smaller hospitals have dedicated helipad locations, even if it's just a corner of the parking lot.

Helipad? More like garage mat pad. 20 bucks and a trip to Deep Homo and it’s repaired.

Well when you build with substandard materials, this is bound to happen.

quote:

Originally posted by Gibb:
So the Osprey landed on the grass next to the "pad", but a medical helicopter couldn't do the same?

And why is a hospital using a temporary pad over grass in the first place? Even our smaller hospitals have dedicated helipad locations, even if it's just a corner of the parking lot.

I have to agree 100%. The usual helipad is grass - don't ask me why, its THE largest hospital complex in Southern England by a long chalk, and. with TWO major USAF bases, a couple of RAF bases and at one time, FIVE major Army bases all within the big lump of East Anglia, it would seem to have been a missive oversight NOT to have build a helipad that could take a Chinook or two.

Do what we do in Bumfuck Minnesota when we need a Dustoff in places without pads: land on the road, land in a field, land in a parking lot. I'm sure the pilots in the UK are no less skilled.

Years ago President Bush visited our City during some devastating California wildfires. They had three IIRC of the Marine-1 Helos that travelled all together, (2 as diversion I am guessing) What was interesting is they had a guy with a checkbook in the Presidential tour who wrote checks on the spot to homeowners whose roofs were damaged by the Helicopter wash.

That's a big ooofff, for the coordinating/liasoning officer for the squadron.

Those are temporary pads which accordion'd out from under the rotorwash, not sure why a more permanent and durable pad wasn't built for such an important facility; I imagine costs and some administrator minimizing such could be at fault. Send in a USAF Red Horse squadron to build the hospital a new pad.

Around here two guys with names like Jose & Manuel could frame up a concrete pad in the morning & have it poured & finished around lunch-time.

@ Tac: Are there such fellows in the UK?

Not for nothing, but those mats can't be cheap...

Maj Keavy Rake, from the USAF 48th Fighter Wing, said: “The area was surveyed according to our policies and procedures and some damage did occur.

"We are taking steps to rectify as soon as possible.

"Our units are continuously coordinating with our local partners to improve operations. We are greatly appreciative of the relationship and coordination we have with the U.K.”

Compete article:

https://www.itv.com/news/angli...ry-training-exercise

FWIW, 48FW is the host wing at Lakenheath, the CV-22 belongs to 352SOW at Mildenhall.

https://www.352sow.af.mil/

Helipad? BS. More like heli-mat. As mentioned previously, pour some concrete will ya.

quote:

Originally posted by urbanwarrior238:
Years ago President Bush visited our City during some devastating California wildfires. They had three IIRC of the Marine-1 Helos that travelled all together, (2 as diversion I am guessing) What was interesting is they had a guy with a checkbook in the Presidential tour who wrote checks on the spot to homeowners whose roofs were damaged by the Helicopter wash.

In 1993, Clinton came to the St Louis area to see the flooding that was happening. His helicopter landed on one of the local high school football fields. Completely tore up their rubberized track.

Seems to me that about 20 guys could have that back online in less than an hour...

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
Do what we do in Bumfuck Minnesota when we need a Dustoff in places without pads: land on the road, land in a field, land in a parking lot. I'm sure the pilots in the UK are no less skilled.

Especially the USAF pilots of these things - used to landing on ALL kinds of crap, let alone backyard patio matting....

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
Seems to me that about 20 guys could have that back online in less than an hour...

Hell, it probably only took four guys to lay it in twenty minutes....

quote:

Originally posted by vinnybass:
Around here two guys with names like Jose & Manuel could frame up a concrete pad in the morning & have it poured & finished around lunch-time.

@ Tac: Are there such fellows in the UK?

Not for nothing, but those mats can't be cheap...

Alas, we have no cheap Hispanic labour in the UK...