They Just Didn't Communicate Very Well

The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor issued its findings Tuesday in the case involving a state department's controversial purchase of a new Beechcraft Bonanza. The finding states the MN Department of Transportation was within the letter of the law when it changed the specs of the deal at the last minute, but did a poor job of communicating those changes -- which effectively shut out competing Cirrus Design Corp.

"We found no evidence of personal gain or any other inappropriate influence on the airplane procurement process," state auditors Jim Nobles and Claudia Gudvangen wrote in a finding obtained by the Associated Press. "Therefore, to the degree the term `rigged' implies that corruption was involved, we do not think the evidence supports that characterization."

As was reported in Aero-News, state senators had asked the auditor's office to investigate the bidding process on the deal in which the MnDOT's Office of Aeronautics selected an aircraft to replace the agency's 1978 Bonanza.

While the department initially stated requirements that both Beechcraft and Cirrus met with their respective planes, the agency later decided they needed a higher payload capacity than the Cirrus could offer -- effectively handing the bid to Beechcraft, with their larger Bonanza (file photo of type, above.)

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, who is also the state transportation commissioner, said the incident was a misunderstanding. Molnau maintains the DOT had looked at the four-seat Cirrus SR22 (file photo of type, below) as an addition to its fleet -- not as a replacement for the old Bonanza. When the state budget didn't have the funds to add an aircraft, the agency says, the Cirrus was taken off the table.

Auditors found that the Office of Aeronautics handled the bid process legally, although the agency could have done a better job of communicating its requirements to all vendors.

The Office of Aeronautics will use the new Bonanza much the same as they used the old one -- monitoring safety, and hauling supplies to, smaller airports throughout the state. The six-passenger Beech will also be used to transport personnel when necessary.

FMI: www.raytheonaircraft.com/beechcraft, www.cirrus.com