This proposal is for a permanent change concerning the implementation of a GNSS Instrument Approach Procedure Without Approach Control, for which a scaled airspace change process applies and the change level is 3. The detailed process requirements are published in CAP1961.
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA), a key part of the emergency services network in the Southwest, is based at Henstridge airfield. The DSAA helicopter is operated under the AOC of Specialist Aviation Services Ltd, the sponsor of this ACP.
Henstridge is situated on the Dorset/Somerset border and is within Class G airspace. The DSAA helicopter operates between the hours of 0700 – 0200 and recoveries to the airfield can only be carried out currently in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) due to the lack of an approved Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP). A Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) mission can last more than three hours, and having departed base in VMC, the weather can often deteriorate, leading at best to a recovery in marginal conditions. However, if the conditions fall below those required for a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) recovery, then this will result in the helicopter having to be left in a field or at a hospital landing site overnight. This means that this important critical care asset will remain offline for a significant period until it can be recovered by the oncoming crew the next day. If the aircraft has been left on a hospital pad, then that pad will not be available to other HEMS aircraft for the period. Therefore, not being able to recover the aircraft to Henstridge in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) is putting patients' lives at risk.
The purpose of this ACP is to gain approval for the design and introduction of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) IAP to Henstridge Airfield using helicopter Point in Space criteria. A major benefit of introducing an IAP is that it will improve safety, as it has been proven that planned flight in IMC offers significant safety benefits over VFR flight in marginal VMC conditions. In addition, allowing the aircraft to recover in IMC will not only deliver continuity of the critical care service it provides, but it will also be a key enabler in allowing future operations in IMC to hospitals that have their own approved GNSS IAP.
