 Ice had forced the helicopter to land/Pic: Andreas Heinzl |
The RAF helicopter which was stuck in a corrie has returned to its home base nine days after it set out to rescue an injured climber. The Sea King was forced to make an emergency landing in the Cairngorms after its rotors iced up.
The crew had to abandon the helicopter in Coire an t-Sneachda.
Heating experts de-iced the helicopter on Monday, allowing it to fly to Glenmore Lodge, before it was flown to RAF Lossiemouth on Wednesday.
An RAF spokesman said: "We are all very glad to see the aircraft back home.
"It will now be returned to service doing the job it's designed for - saving lives.
Home base
"We have all learned from the experience of recovering a rescue helicopter in adverse weather, 3,000ft up in the mountains."
It had been flown to Glenmore Lodge for further checks before being given the all-clear to return to its home base on the Moray coast.
The helicopter got into difficulty in a blizzard during a call-out to rescue a man injured while climbing in Coire an t-Sneachda.
The Sea King crew had to walk off the mountain while the Cairngorm and Kinloss mountain rescue teams helped the man, who had a broken ankle.
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