A tall helicopter, a short hangar door: Arizona budget allocation fixes a mismatch

The hangar door was too short for the $11 million helicopter Arizona taxpayers bought last year for the Department of Public Safety.

But the real problem was the state police agency appeared to be short of the money to pay for a taller door at its Northern Air Rescue hanger in Flagstaff.

That got fixed when lawmakers last spring included $300,000 in the state budget to pay for what legislative budget staff said was a replacement door. There were inside jokes about a too-big-for-its-britches helicopter and an undersized hangar, but the money was approved.

At the time, DPS officials said the $300,000 was for improvements to the rescue unit’s aviation fueling system and storage. Capt. Keith D. Gephart rebuffed suggestions DPS had knowingly bought a helicopter that wouldn’t fit in the hangar, noting a bigger door had already been ordered and installation was scheduled for June.

State records show that, indeed, a taller door was purchased in September 2022. The records also show payment for the $380,708 door was made in installments — with the final payment, just shy of $300,000, made one month after the budget was approved.

Sgt. Eric Andrews, DPS' public information supervisor, said the agency had no further comment on the issue when asked about the final payment. That payment, $297,218, closely matched the agency’s budget request.

Instead, Andrews pointed to budget documents that showed the agency had sought $320,000 for what were described as “aviation hangar improvements.”

One of those documents, from Gov. Katie Hobbs’ budget office, provided more detail.

“The Flagstaff hangar door is too low to accommodate the Department’s Bell 429 helicopter,” according to the request. “The aircraft needs to be stored inside a secure hangar to protect it from environmental hazards.”

It also noted the funding would cover “a 10,000‐gallon jet fuel tank/reel, concrete slab/containment, and canopy to properly store and fuel the helicopter.”

DPS did not immediately respond when asked if there was sufficient funding to handle the fuel projects.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona state police will finally fit $11M helicopter in hangar