WILTSHIRE Air Ambulance's helicopter is back in the air.

Following rigorous testing of the Bell 429 helicopter on the ground and in flight, it was released back to operational flying on Friday.

The helicopter has been out of service for weeks since an incident at the airbase on June 15.

While the pilot was carrying out daily power assurance checks on the helicopter's engines,its tail rotor spun unprompted, causing the helicopter to perform two-and-a-half counter-clockwise spins.

The pilot quickly brought it to a stop and, luckily, nothing was damaged and the pilot wasn't injured or at risk of being hit by the rotor.

Following in-depth testing of the helicopter as part of an investigation into the fault, the helicopter's manufacturer replacing two components as a precaution.

The new parts had to be sourced from North America, and two sets of flight data were downloaded from the helicopter to guide the required investigation of the event.

While the helicopter was out of action, the air-ambulance-less Wiltshire Air Ambulance has sent its paramedics and doctors out rapid response cars, including one loaned to them by the charity West Berkshire Rapid Response Cars.

The cars have the same specialist medical equipment, funded by donations, that's onboard the helicopter.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance has responded to 95 incidents in the cars since June 15 to July 19 – on average almost three incidents a day - and, in one in five incidents, they travelled in land ambulances and provided critical care to their patients en-route to hospitals.

David Philpott, Chief Executive of Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: “We are pleased that our helicopter has been released for operational flying.

"The safety of our operation is of paramount and overriding importance to the charity.

"Associated with the wide and diverse range of its stakeholders, the charity has the clear and defined duty of care to ensure that the helicopter is released to service and operations are resumed only when all and any safety concerns are addressed and satisfied, in compliance with applicable regulation.

"This may require time but it is an unavoidable component of the process.

“We are incredibly proud to provide a lifesaving service in Wiltshire and surrounding counties and thank everyone, including our colleagues at neighbouring air ambulances who have helped cover incidents in Wiltshire, for their support.”