Local Air Ambulance Takes-Off For Flight Number 14,000

The doctors, dispatchers, pilots and paramedics that make up the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance critical care teams have responded to 14,000 missions by helicopter since its first flight in 2007.

Combined with its emergency response vehicle deployments, the service has responded to more than 21,000 emergencies in total.

Flight number 14,000 came up when the team were deployed to an incident in Milford on Sea on Tuesday 10 June.

The service’s helicopter was despatched from Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, after completing an earlier mission.

A patient was stabilised at the scene then transferred to hospital by road ambulance with the doctor-paramedic team continuing to provide life-saving care with ambulance staff colleagues from South Central Ambulance Service.

One of those 14,000 responses was to 61-year-old Charlie Joyner, who was flown to hospital in 2024 after his leg was crushed under the weight of a van engine.

Charlie, from Wootton, had a near amputation of his right foot, an open fracture to his left ankle and he has also snapped his fibula.

Because of his rural location in Merstone, the pilot landed the helicopter close to the scene – saving vital minutes. Charlie was stabilised before being flown to hospital for surgery.

 Charlie said:

“Without the Air Ambulance, I probably would have died – and I definitely would’ve lost my leg!

“I’d like to say a massive thank you. Thank you to the team who came out to me and to the people who support the air ambulance. It’s so important to everyone in our community – especially to us here on the Isle of Wight.

"I never thought it would be me who needed it.”

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Paramedic Clinical Lead, Nick Gray, who was on flight number 14,000, said:

“Our sincere thanks to everyone who supports this charity.

"Your kindness and passion ensures my colleagues and I are ready to provide emergency critical care to those who need it.

“Many of our patients and their friends and families are only together now because of the exceptional generosity of the people who have supported us since our first flight in 2007.”

The charity relies entirely on donations from the public to ensure it can bring its life-saving care to the most seriously ill and injured patients across the region. 

The service has responded to more than 1,000 emergencies in 2025.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is currently raising funds towards its airbase relocation appeal, Operation Airbase.

The move to a site near Southampton Airport will improve response times for patients throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The charity has so far raised £1.5 million of its £3.6 million target.

Visit www.hiowaa.org/appeal for more information.