Air ambulance pilot flew greater than two million miles in 29 years of missions

An air ambulance pilot has spoken about his slim escapes and life saving flights over nearly three many years after he retired from service.

Rory Macdonald, 61, who spent 29 years flying in all weathers throughout the size and breadth of Scotland with the Scottish Ambulance Service spoke of the nice respect he had for the individuals he transported.

He stated: “A few of these individuals have actually dangerous medical issues and we see stoicism and cheerful behaviour, which is exceptional.

“You will note individuals with terminal most cancers and debilitating sicknesses who handle to point out such a cheerful face, it’s fairly superb  seeing these individuals and the respect I’ve for them is past phrases.

“It’s a nice honour to have seen so many individuals with such dangerous issues who’ve this superb spirit.

“Many individuals in different jobs will barely expertise this.”

He joked in regards to the flight which may have stopped his profession earlier than it began.

He stated: “The trainer Sandy wished me to do a completely developed stall in touchdown configuration, with wheels down and flaps totally down.

“I used to be out of my consolation zone.”

Mr Macdonald stated he carried out the stall and recovered it, however on beginning to raise the undercarriage it could not come up.

He added: “As we have been attempting to work out what was taking place, we began to odor one thing disagreeable, I appeared again and noticed a wall of smoke advancing down the cabin in the direction of us.

“It was from the electrical motors on the undercarriage burning out attributable to being jammed.

“This nonetheless charges as one of many scariest moments of my life.”

The cabin was depressurised to let the smoke out, the pair went onto oxygen masks and, with the smoke clear, ready themselves for an emergency touchdown.

Finally, once they touched down at RAF St Mawgan, there was a “screech of aluminium on asphalt and we skidded alongside coaching white smoke”, stated Mr Macdonald.

The expertise didn’t put him off and in 1992 Mr Macdonald began flying a Beechcraft Kingair 200 twin engined plane for Bond Helicopters which had a contract with the Scottish Ambulance Service.

A lot of Mr Macdonald’s flights featured very sick or injured individuals, and he recalled one night time time flight from Shetland

Mr Macdonald stated: “I had a Shetland midnight job.

“There had been a highway accident and a bunch of youngsters in a automobile had a foul smash, one was killed, one had a head harm and damaged bones too.

“We went up and took him and his mom right down to Aberdeen.

“It was fairly quickly after I’d met my spouse to be, Felicity and her father was in hospital.

“We have been visiting him and it turned out this boy was within the subsequent room.

“Felicity’s mum had been going spherical speaking to everybody and he or she stated there’s this boy who has been flown down on the air ambulance the opposite day and I stated that’s most likely the lad I introduced down.

“Two or three days later I noticed him in hospital sitting up along with his arm in a sling and had been nicely patched up, totally aware and he was being a typical teenager and severely taking the piss out of his mum.

“To see that change from somebody actually at loss of life’s door to completely up and working once more and mind working was a very satisfying factor.”

In retirement, Mr Macdonald’s life will change gear as he joins his spouse working her village store, Macdonald’s of Alford, which opened in 2019 and was named Scottish Small Enterprise of the 12 months in 2020.

Mr Macdonald stated: “I will probably be attempting to study a bit extra about sure parts of meals manufacturing.

“One other factor that I actually wish to do is, perhaps two to a few occasions a 12 months, take the campervan and go on ferries to islands to which I flew to deliver sufferers off to the mainland.

“I wish to see a few of the communities that I’ve helped in flying the air ambulance.”