Going To Australia

First it was grounded. Now, it's been sold. So much for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's 1966 Aero Commander.

The aircraft was sold to an Australian company and will become part of a corporate fleet, according to state officials. The sales price: $58,500.

"They're the best general-aviation airplane ever made. They're just really tough," said buyer Roger Oeland, president of Aero Specialties, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "They're like a three-quarter-ton pickup truck."

Richardson, his administration and the Aero Commander were all embroiled in controversy last year. As ANN reported, the governor wanted a bigger, faster plane to carry more passengers and he planned to spend $4 million on it. But the governor's purchase was hung up when Attorney General Patricia Madrid ruled it would be illegal to buy that $4 million plane with money originally earmarked for road construction.

While the political battle seems to be at an end and the plane is indeed on its way to Australia, no one associated with the aircraft on the state level seems to happy to see it go. "They were almost crying when we left over there," Oeland told the AP. "They really enjoyed using the airplane and really hated to lose it."

FMI: www.governor.state.nm.us