BUFFALO, N.Y. — We have an update on the idea of seeking a replacement for that well-recognized asset of the Erie County Sherriff's office known as Air One.
2 On Your Side spoke with Sheriff John Garcia recently about the effort to get a new helicopter for several public safety missions.
The idea of getting a new version of the venerable now 23-year-old Air One helicopter first surfaced in April as Sheriff Garcia noted its age with concerns about the costs and safety factors of keeping it in the air.
So now Erie County lawmakers have agreed in the newly approved budget to put one million dollars toward the potential replacement acquisition along with a previously announced sum of one million dollars from the state.
Some folks might feel drones could be more cost-efficient to accomplish the mission. But Garcia says "Drones are not the answer when it comes to life-saving but we use them for crime scene analysis."
But there is still a way to go on meeting costs for a new chopper.
The original Air One is a 150-mile-per-hour law enforcement surveillance platform. It has special searchlights, infrared video, and a computer navigation system. When it comes to overall public safety there is the 300-pound maximum lift rescue hoist which has been used in places like Zoar Valley or even out on Lake Erie.
But now the Sheriff's wish list calls for, "Dual engines, a strong hoist, life-rescuing capabilities." That could mean a much more expensive replacement helicopter with elements beyond the abilities and reach of the original Air One Eurocopter.
The challenge is how to make that happen beyond the two million dollars already allocated.
"The federal dollars are out there - it's how to go about it. But we have good partners with Congressman Langworthy and Congressman Higgins," Garcia said.
Homeland Security funding guidelines, which cities like New York use for helicopter acquisition, require a one million-person population for eligibility. Erie County is below that but Garcia hopes a regional approach for a law enforcement/rescue helicopter which includes service for Niagara and other surrounding counties could help make up the margin.
"This is a regional asset - a regional asset that is there for life-saving missions, surveillance missions, and just for the use of really any other county that we have, " Garcia said.
The Coast Guard has sent one of their five helicopters and crew here at times for rescues but normally they are based at the Coast Guard's Air Station Detroit. The New York State Police also have helicopters but they are sometimes assigned elsewhere.
Niagara County Sheriff Michael Filicetti, who has an older military surplus helicopter at his command, says he would be willing to support a regional push for a new version of Air One to be used throughout Western New York.