Helicopter ER: Veteran who survived near-fatal motorbike crash between Castleford and Leeds to appear on Yorkshire Air Ambulance TV show

The upcoming episode will air on Tuesday, October 4 and will show the YAA crew being called to the scene of a serious motorbike crash involving a 74-year-old man who was travelling back home.

Helicopter ER episodes air every Tuesday at 9pm on Tuesday at 9pm on Really Channel/Discovery Plus.

Eric Scaife was riding home on a country road after visiting his son in Castleford when he lost control of his vintage motorbike going at speed and was thrown 20ft down the road into a parked car.

The accident left him with multiple serious injuries; his body absorbed the impact of the crash and landing on the road.

A passer-by stopped to help and called the emergency services. As a result of the seriousness of his injuries, YAA was dispatched. On the scene, they noticed that his blood pressure was alarmingly low and worked as speedy as they could, giving him a blood transfusion on the scene to stabilise him.

Speaking of his incident, Mr Scaife said: “I was on my way home between Castleford and Leeds, but for some reason, I had turned off on another road that I don’t usually go on.

“Apparently, I had what was called a vacant episode and I wasn’t fully aware of what was going on when the incident happened.”

As Eric was at risk of going into cardiac arrest, the YAA crew decided to take Eric to the hospital by land ambulance and accompanied him on the journey to Leeds General Infirmary.

On the journey to the hospital, Eric went into cardiac arrest and YAA Paramedics worked very hard to restart his heart. He was rushed into Resus in the A&E department where hospital staff took over the fight to save his life.

“My son had been told it was best to have another 10 minutes with me as I wouldn’t last until morning. When you are told that, it was more serious than what I realised,” Mr Scaife said.

Tests showed that he had broken his back, several ribs and a knee and punctured his lung when he crashed his vintage bike. He spent two weeks in hospital and another eight weeks in a care home.

Speaking of his recovery, he said: “It took me quite a few weeks to recover, I had difficulty getting up and down the stairs.”

Following the incident, it was revealed that he had a serious incident four year before and also ended up in YAA’s care. So this was the second time that YAA came to his rescue.

Mr Scaife has since given up his motorbike and has taken up archery, walking and cycling which has helped with his rehabilitation.

“I only want to drive on the road if I consider myself to be safe on the road, I wouldn’t want to risk injuring anyone else through an incident caused by me,” he said.

Speaking of YAA, he said: “They are amazing and one of my favourite charities. I cannot thank them enough for their help.”