Uttar Pradesh: For Rs 124 cr, govt gets two new aircraft to bolster fleet

Principal secretary (Civil Aviation), Anita Singh; director, civil aviation, Devendra Swarup, a pilot Pankaj Singh and engineer Ajit Singh completed the prcurement exercise during a recent 12-day tour of the USA.

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Swarup confirmed the procurement of an airplane and said the formalities to bring the helicopter was under process.
According to department officials, Super King Air B-250, manufactured by the Beechcraft Corporation, is an upgraded version of Super King Air B-200 airplane that the UP government already has in its fleet.

“The Super King Air B-250 can fly at an altitude of 40,000 ft and cover upto 12,000 km without refueling. Also, it can land at relatively short airstrips of length upto 4,000 ft,” said an official of the UP civil aviation department.

The official said four seats of the turbo-propelled airplane could be detached to make space for stretcher to carry patients in emergency.

The Bell 412 EPI helicopter, manufactured by Bell Textron, has maximum speed of 115 nautical miles per hour and can fly five to six hours without refueling.

There are three airplanes and three helicopters in the state fleet at present. The airplanes include Hawker 900XP, Super King Air B-200 and Super King Air B-300. The helicopters include Bell 412 EP, Agusta Grand and Bell 230.
Sources said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav prefers to use Bell 412 EP to fly within UP.

“The state government had decided to sell off Super King Air B-300 (1994 make) airplane and Bell 230 (1995 make) helicopter as both had completed their flying life span. While the airplane has already been sold, the process to sell the helicopter is under process,” an official said.