Despite optimistic projections, state has found few takers for old, expensive choppers
Gov. Chris Christie exits a N.J. State Police helicopter after landing in the parking lot of the Passaic County Public Safety Academy in Wayne in this March file photo. The state is looking to sell aging helicopters to help pay for newer ones, but a sluggish economy has produced little interest.TRENTON — If you’ve got a few million to spare and are looking for a novel new way to see the Highlands or cruise the shore, boy does New Jersey have a high-flying deal for you.
The State Police want to unload a handful of old helicopters to soften the $63 million price tag for five new, top-of-the-line choppers already made famous by Gov. Chris Christie’s airborne trip in May to his son’s baseball game.
But there’s one hitch in the sales pitch: No one seems to want these aging whirleybirds.
The Department of Law and Public Safety thought it could sell two old choppers in the fiscal year that just ended for $7 million, and budgeted the cash to pay for State Police salaries. But it sold only one, a small Bell model used mostly for training, on an online auction website for unwanted government goods.
The winning bid: $642,000.
Taxpayers last week picked up the $6.4 million tab to cover the difference in the budget because the department could not sell any of its larger, more valuable Sikorsky models outfitted for medical evacuations. Officials blamed the economy.
"The market’s tanked," said Kenneth Nierenberg, aircraft sales manager at Princeton Airport in Montgomery Township. "These helicopters are very expensive to operate, and very expensive to buy. There’s no market for them right now."
The state began ferrying the injured by medical helicopters, known as MedEvac, in 1989 under Gov. Thomas Kean. But the fleet of decades-old Sikorskys has also been a popular option for governors and other officials over the years — often causing partisan spats when their trips did not involve state business.
During a budget hearing in May 2010, Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Hudson) asked Attorney General Paula Dow if the state would really get $3.5 million for each of the four old helicopters slated for sale in fiscal years 2011 and 2012.
"With respect to these helicopters, I was pleasantly surprised to learn there is still a very active and vibrant market for used helicopters in the system," Dow said at that hearing. "And that I have not heard one doubt that these copters would be sold."
During an Assembly hearing this year, Dow said she was worried that, considering the economy, the state would not get $3.5 million each. But she again budgeted $7 million in sales, which again would go toward State Police salaries.
Lee Moore, a spokesman for Dow, said there is no indication the helicopters cannot be sold this fiscal year. But he said the department is unsure how much money the sales could raise.
Quigley said the department has been "disingenuous" about its chopper projections. "It’s fantasy budgeting," she said.
Past sales of Sikorskys suggest the state’s asking price may be too high. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey disbanded its airborne unit last year and sold its two Sikorsky helicopters. A 2003 craft sold for $3.3 million, and a 1984 craft sold for $1 million, said spokesman Ron Marsico.
The five Sikorskys owned by New Jersey — all up for sale — are more than 20 years old, according to the State Police. Andrew Pratt, a spokesman for the Treasury, which oversees surplus property sales, said the fleet is well-maintained but has old and inefficient engines.
Vince Robbins, chief executive officer of MONOC, a nonprofit group of hospitals that share emergency medical services including MedEvac, said he was not surprised the state’s having trouble selling its Sikorsky choppers.
"They’re medically configured to be MedEvac helicopters and no one in the MedEvac industry buys Sikorskys," Robbins said. "They were really designed to be more of a corporate helicopter."
But he said business executives may also shy away from them because they were used in stressful situations and outfitted for medical purposes, not comfortable corporate flights.
David Jones, president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association, said the economy has been a blessing and a curse: the state cannot find takers for its old aircraft, but it got a better deal on the new ones.
"We’re not talking about an overindulgent soccer mom who bought a big SUV," Jones said of the new choppers. "We’re talking about a multi-mission, long-term public safety piece of equipment."
The State Police lobbied for the new, AgustaWestland helicopters to update their aging fleet and better provide emergency medical services. The choppers are also used in criminal investigations and for homeland security operations.
Three of the new helicopters are in service but not yet certified for MedEvac missions by the Federal Aviation Administration, Moore said. Two more are expected by early next year.