Mercy Flight of western New York is upgrading its fleet. The
company has announced the $23 million purchase of three new Bell 429
helicopters. Much of the current fleet dates back to the 1980’s. Officials say
the new choppers are bigger and faster but most importantly, they’ll be able to
fly in bad weather or zero visibility. Mercy Flight says the purchases are
possible because of a long-term lending effort from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and M&T Bank. The new helicopters should arrive by late spring
2018.
