Alaska Fails To Sell State Jet On Ebay

JuneauEmpire.com reports:
After four failed attempts to sell Alaska's unwanted state jet through the Internet, Gov. Sarah Palin's administration has enlisted the help of an Anchorage aircraft broker.

The state has signed a contract with Robert Heckmann, owner of Turbo North Aviation, who said his company has sold more than 1,800 planes - including about two dozen jets - in the past 27 years.

Heckmann suggested an asking price of $2.45 million based on the current jet market, state officials said. The administration promised Heckmann a 1.49 percent cut of the selling price.

"The eBay thing didn't work out very well," said Dan Spencer, director of administrative services for the Department of Public Safety.

In the meantime, the state is making quarterly payments of about $62,000 on the jet.

Spencer is in charge of trying to get rid of the Westwind II, purchased for $2.6 million in state dollars by former Gov. Frank Murkowski despite protests from the Legislature.

Murkowski used the jet to fly around the state, sometimes mixing campaign errands with government business.