Technical Crew Member (TCM) Will Newton explains what it’s like to balance flying, navigation, safety, and patient care with Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Will shares his path into aviation, the challenges of finding a place to in some of the tighter spaces across Yorkshire, as well as the special teamwork that goes into every mission.

Enjoy this rare look behind the scenes at the role that keeps helicopters flying safely and patients supported from the very first moment of a call-out.

Each month, our crew is called to deliver urgent, lifesaving care, and regular donations help us stay ready for every mission.  

To set up a regular gift, text YAA5 to 70460 to give £5 a month.

Thank you

If you want to find out more about Yorkshire Air Ambulance you can visit our website Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Welcome to Summat in t'Air. the podcast by Yorkshire Air Ambulance. 2025 marks 25 years of Yorkshire Air Ambulance flying helicopters and saving lives across the region. So to celebrate, we're sharing stories of rescues and a glimpse of life at the charity.

On a deeper level. It is ultimately a super cool job. You're getting some really interesting flying out of it, but then at the same time, each flight means something to someone.

Today Will Newton shares what it's like to be a TCM - that's technical crew member. Yes, I had to ask the first time. It's a role that moves quickly between aviation and patient care, with an eye always on safety, communication and teamwork.

Yeah, so I'm a massive fan of aviation. I worked for a previous emergency service to this and in my spare time I fly fixed wing vintage aeroplanes. So it's based at Breighton Airfield in East Yorkshire near Selby. We've got a lot of vintage kind of tail draggers dating back to the 1930s and 40s, all based there. So I'm one of the pilots that get to fly them airplanes for people to see on a weekend.

All right, any wing walkers, that kind of thing?

No, nothing like that.

Okay, so aviation's kind of in your blood. So it was kind of a dream job for you this then, was it?

Yeah, so I was always after a job where there would be interesting flying and this is really interesting flying. Instead of sat up at a really safe altitude, super high up, in this you're flying low level, different terrain, over built up areas in remote areas and then landing in some remote areas which you would never think a helicopter could get into. But seeing it like that, it is a really cool job.

So your role Will strikes me as being a bit of a plate spinner. You're doing all sorts of things, aren't we? Is that true?

My primary job is to assist the pilot with radios and navigation and picking landing sites and any other duties that need to be done in the air. And then I'm trained to the level of an emergency care assistant to assist the clinicians on scene as well. So if they need any help setting up equipment, etcetera, it's kind of a dual role where I go from aviation to then medical to then quickly back to aviation if we're flying someone to hospital. So essentially dispatch hits the siren, everyone starts running around and seeing where we're going to go. So the pilot runs to the aircraft, gets the aircraft going whilst I work out where we're going, what resources are going as well. And then I can give a rough ETA of how long it's going to take until we get there. So essentially, dispatch gives me a grid reference. We have an iPad, luckily enough that we've got an iPad instead of a map.

The iPad's got all the maps on where we put the grid reference in. And essentially it puts a pin of where the caller has given an address or where the call’s pinning to. So essentially I can give a quick kind of ETA to the dispatch so that she can let everyone else know that we're 15 minutes out. And then I joined a pilot back in the aircraft and we start looking at landing sites whilst en route.

Okay, so you're flying to the incident and you're a second pair of eyes for the pilot, I suppose, in many ways. Just talk us through what you need to do.

Once we get going at Nostell, it's all eyes out in a sense of once we get to a kind of cruising height where everything kind of settles down, we can start going. You know, my eyes would go in and the pilot's eyes would remain out for any hazards. And we essentially look at where we're going. It's all kind of dynamically risk assessed and chosen at the time. And if we look at kind of the urban areas of Yorkshire, especially where Nostell covers, sometimes it can be quite difficult to kind of pick a landing site of where we're going to go. So we always kind of pick several landing sites of where we're going to go, label them off as A, B and C. So A would be the primary site where we'd go to the nearest to the patient, the biggest room, the best shape, slice, slope, surface and the best access to the patient as well. Because sometimes, especially near a school, as I'm looking on this picture behind us, a school can be quite secure with fences all around, so it just depends whether the medical crew want to jump over it or not.

So it's really where we're going to go and we can assess that as we're going. But once we get overhead, then it's really right. Where did we pick? Oh, actually now, that field is now housing estate, because they're popping up so quickly. So then we look at kind of B and C and where the best place to go is, and me and the pilot kind of make that decision of this would be the best place for the crew to then walk down the road to the patient.

So all's gone well, you've landed, the rotors are winding down a bit. Talk me through what happens next.

It depends where we land, really, because if we've got a massive field next to a farm all by ourselves, it's kind of everyone gets out and goes towards the job. But if we land in an urban area, especially during the summer holidays, where, you know, there's kids and parents and everyone out having a picnic, and we come into landing and everyone starts moving out of the way. Again, third parties, helicopters are dangerous things if you're outside them. So the first thing I do is jump out and make sure that the area is clear and nobody's walking towards the helicopter because the big spinning thing on top will hurt 100%.

You've secured the area, the paramedic and the doctors got off to see the patient. What do you do then?

It really depends on the nature of the job. There's some extra kit in the back of the helicopter, so looking at the picture of the back, the boot opens and there's lots of kit inside that. Sometimes it's safer to go around the back when the engines have stopped and all the rotor blades have stopped, but depending on slope and where we've landed. So I might follow to scene with the medics and help them out setting up different equipment, etc while they're doing other things. But then in certain situations where we go back to the field full of people, I might have to stay with the pilot, again show people around the helicopter, but at the same time, there's some very expensive aerials that can get knocked off if people get too close.

So when you land at a scene, there's obviously a lot of people around more often than not. Can you give any advice as to what these people should do or not do to help you?

Yeah. So it can be very exciting seeing a helicopter land where you are. There's plenty of places that we could land in Yorkshire, but at that very one time, it's landing in your park that you're walking your dog around. The main thing is keep well back. Ultimately, we're going to a job where someone needs our help and getting in the way of us landing can ultimately delay that time for us to get to the patient and treat them. So when you do see the air ambulance coming to land, keep well back. A lot of people pull out the phones these days and just start recording, which is a natural thing, so they can show the friends what went on today. But just make sure you know where you're standing, you're keeping well back.

When we do come into land, it can produce winds up to 80 miles an hour, which can obviously injure you and other people. So, especially if you're there with your kids, keep them safe, give us plenty of room to do our job and help people. We don't mind them taking pictures of the helicopter, but ultimately we need to respect the patient's privacy. And you wouldn't like somebody taking a picture of you or your family member that's being helped by us.

The scenario is you're heading for, let's say, James Cook in Middlesbrough, and I would imagine, Will, that you will be liaising with the hospital as to what's coming along.

We keep communications all the time with air traffic control and the air desk. So the air desk know exactly what we're doing at any time. They've got a tracking system on their screen as well to see where we are.

That's the air desk back here at Nostell?

Back here at Nostell. So if the medical crews need to pass on a message to the receiving hospital, they'd do that through me. So they'd probably say, will, can you ask the air desk to pass on this message that we need some blood prepared for when the patient gets there? So it's all through the air desk. So that the air desk keeps everyone in the loop, basically. But the hospital know that we're coming before we set off.

So I can see, Will, you've got a big smile on your face. You're obviously enthused with your job. What's the most satisfying part of your job?

On a deeper level it is ultimately a super cool job. You're getting some really interesting flying out of it, but then at the same time, each flight means something to someone and ultimately you are helping people that are in distress and possibly on the worst days of their lives. And we keep going to that every day for different people from different backgrounds helping everybody. So ultimately, the actual reward of this job is you knowing that you're helping somebody and potentially saving their life.

So I suppose you come on duty and you don't know where you're going to go, do you In Yorkshire during the day? It's not flying from A to B, it's flying from A to anywhere.

Yeah. There's no flight plans. It's all as it comes in, as it happens, real time. So it's really exciting to come to work because you'd never know what you're going to get.

You have two shifts here as a TCM at Nostell earlies and lates. Talk me through the differences in the shifts and what you will be doing when you're not flying.

Yeah. So starting off with earlies, we ultimately come into work and see that the aircraft's been put to bed by the previous late crew. We help check the aircraft to make sure it's airworthy with the pilot. And that's also kind of setting up the base because ultimately when we come in on a morning, it's just us. So when we're not on a mission, we're kind of running an airbase, making sure that all the admin' s done properly, everything's working. And when we're not on a job, we're either doing things for the charity, which you'll see on our social media page, or meeting previous patients that are coming in for a visit.

So what happens on the late shift?

We set up the aircraft and our helmets for night operations. So we attach some night vision goggles to our helmets, me and the pilot in the front, and we ultimately have to calibrate the goggles to our own eyes because everyone's eyes are different. So we have to calibrate them so that we can see clearly through the goggles and the goggles that we currently have, we see everything in black and green. You could see a pitch black field. We could put some night vision goggles on in the Yorkshire Dales and we will see all the sheep on the hills and all the sheep looking at us, so we'd be able to see all the eyes. And ultimately, when we look up in the sky as well, we can see all the stars. So it basically amplifies the light through your eyes, then you can see everything else.

Do you prefer working days or nights?

Nights, it's definitely cooler, yeah.

Oh, really? That surprises me. I thought it would be days.

Yeah. So we go up until one o' clock here at Nostell. The flying that I do as a hobby, I don't fly at night with night vision goggles on.

No.

So it's only kind of us as HEMS units and the military that fly on with night vision goggles. So it's a very unique experience that not many people get to kind of experience. And when you're descending into the dark abyss with some goggles on that you can see everything that's that's there.

So as a pilot, then it's a feather in your cap, isn't it, being night capable?

It is, yes. And it's a very unique kind of skill for them as well. So when we're working together in the front, there's a lot more going on. So my role during the night, I ultimately take control of the searchlight that's on the a ircraft. So a lot of people ask, why have you got a big camera on the. On the helicopter? And we're not a police helicopter. That's what they have. But we basically have a big night sun, which will light up any landing site that we're going into.

So, Will, there's lots of essential jobs that you need to do around the base. Do you have a favourite job?

I do enjoy cleaning the aircraft. I get a lot of satisfaction out of cleaning the aircraft just because the three aircraft that we have have been paid for by the people of Yorkshire. So to look after an aircraft and keep it pristine when we do land on jobs, people do comment, oh, it's pretty clean, isn't it? And ultimately, yeah, because we're looking after the helicopter that people of Yorkshire paid for. The aircraft is probably the worst color that it could possibly be for a helicopter. Ours as an air ambulance. I think the colour is perfect because you can see it, it kind of matches the ambulance color that are on the ground, so you get some fantastic pictures. But also the exhaust fumes get it really dirty on a busy day. So on a Saturday and Sunday, where they're going out all the time, you could come in on a Monday morning and the tail's just black, just with the exhaust fumes.

So that's why you see a lot of helicopters dark in color, like black and grey. It's because they mask them, the mark, so we have to keep on top of it so that it remains yellow.

So when you're cleaning the aircraft, Will, down at the tail, there's some special names on there, aren't there?

Yes, there is. The charity, as part of their 25th year anniversary celebrations, they've launched a campaign called A Year Over Yorkshire. And you can add your name or a loved one's name onto the back of the aircraft. My granddad's name's on it. Keith Mountain is his name and he's on the back of the aircraft of G-YAAA. It all stems from I used to go home and whenever my granddad came around, he used to say, oh, well, I've been tracking the aircraft on flight radar and I've seen that it's gone here. We added his name as a birthday present.

So now we can say, well, that's the aircraft that's got your name on. And if he sees it going overhead, he can see that his name's flying along with us.

So if anybody else wants to check out, they can go onto the website and look for A Year Over Yorkshire. So, Will, was there ever a moment when you thought, yes, this is why I wanted this job.

So I've been with the charity just over two years now and we started going to jobs in the first year and it's really satisfying when the patients come back to base and kind of meet the crew that went to them fully recovered and that could be to six months to a year on from when the job was. And I think the best thing for my well being is I forget most of the jobs so when they come along a year later, I have to really think hard, what was that job? Because there's just so many. But my most memorable moment in the charity, and we're going a backstory here of I joined the air cadets when I was 13. So that's how I started off in aviation was I joined the air cadets. I did a lot of adventurous training out up in the mountains and up in the hills with walking, mountain leading, etc, etc and there was this one job a couple of months ago where we got a request from the mountain rescue team and she won't mind me talking about this because we have laughs about it all the time. We got a call from the mountain rescue team saying there was a walker on the top of Pen-y-ghent, it was thick with snow, ice, super cold, I think it was minus 11 on the top of the hill and the mountain rescue team basically needed help. So we set off, it was pitch black with our night vision goggles on and out of the 8 million people that live in Yorkshire, it was just one person who was an instructor that taught me how to map read, walk across the mountains. And you should have seen her face when she found out it was me.

So we ended up flying her to Leeds General Infirmary and then the day afterwards when I saw her, reminded her that we flew her to LGI. So that's the best moment where a person that's guided me through my life instructed me at the air cadets. I then ultimately airlift them to hospital.

At least she knew you were well trained.

Hopefully. Well, I got there, we got there, didn't we? So brilliant that map reading did come into, you know, then map reading skills did come into play and ultimately we got there and airlifted her to hospital.

You come back and you've seen potentially some terrible things and it's all been, you know, very, very stressful. How do you de stress?

I think I only realized the level of trauma that the air ambulance crews do see when I, when I joined. You know, you can only imagine. Oh, I bet they go to the worst things possible and see this and See that? And really the best way to describe it was one, how a doctor described it to me was that a normal ambulance crew on the road might only see two cardiac arrests a year. But we've had it before where we've gone to six in a day. We're seeing a lot more trauma and a lot more kind of medical episodes than other road crews are doing. In terms of crew welfare when we come back from a job, we're all one team and we all look after each other.

Will, if you weren't a TCM, what job would you do?

It'd have to be the pilots.

I knew that was going to be the pilots.

I look to the right each mission and see what they're doing, doing. It's amazing how over their aviation careers that they've, they've gained that experience to become a HEMS pilot. And you know, there's some pretty nail biting moments where as a pilot myself think, wow, this is some serious stuff and they're making it look easy.

Is it more difficult flying a helicopter than a fixed wing aircraft?

Oh, that's a, that's a, that's an.

Unfair question, isn't it?

We talk about this all, [it’s] very different. It's very different.

Well, it's fascinating to hear Will describing how a TCM works between the cockpit and the patient's side and the pride he takes in keeping the helicopter clean. If you want to support the work the Yorkshire Air Ambulance does, go to our website, yorkshireairambulance.org.uk where you can easily donate.

Thank you for listening to Summat in t'Air. If you've enjoyed the podcast, please share it and tell your friends to listen.