Delaware State Police takes delivery of two Bell 429s

Col. Nathaniel McQueen (left), superintendent of the Delaware St. Police, John Garrison (right), president and CEO of Bell Helicopter

The Delaware State Police have taken delivery of two Bell 429s, the first aircraft to be configured for HEMS, search and rescue and airborne law enforcement.

The helicopters will join the State Police’s fleet of Bell helicopters and be used throughout the state for a variety of parapublic missions with a strong focus on EMS.

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Colonel Nathaniel McQueen Jr., superintendent of the Delaware State Police, said: “We are always looking to provide our community with quality, safe service, and these Bell 429s provides us with that. We are very excited to begin performing missions with this state-of-the-art, multi-mission aircraft, and look forward to our continued relationship with Bell Helicopter.”

The Delaware State Police have been a Bell Helicopter customer for nearly 45 years and were the first law enforcement agency in the world to take delivery of the Bell 407. The police unit currently operates three Bell 407s, a Bell 412 and a fixed-wing Cessna 182.

Anthony Moreland, vice president of North American sales, said: “The Bell 429 is highly configurable to allow performance of a wide range of missions, and we are honored to hand over these aircraft capable of life-saving and parapublic operations to a life-long customer.”

“The aircraft are equipped with innovative hardware and a unique integration of class leading technology and cutting-edge mission equipment that truly set a new standard in the light-twin industry,” added Moreland.

The Bell 429 helicopter is capable of carrying two patients on stretchers with two attendants and two flight crew.