The South Carolina Aeronautics Commission has sold both its old state planes, pictured above, and is in the process of buying a second replacement, officials told a legislative oversight board Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (File photo courtesy of SC Aeronautics Commission)
COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s aeronautics agency has sold both of its aging, problem-riddled planes and is in the process of replacing the second one, while eyeing a potential third plane down the line.
The process of replacing the state’s two, decades-old planes started two years ago, when legislators included $10 million for newer planes in the state budget at the governor’s request. The planes, which ferry the governor, legislators and agency officials around on official business, spent months at a time on the ground undergoing maintenance instead of up in the air, officials said at the time.
Of the $10 million provided in the 2024 state spending plan, $6.9 million is still available after the agency bought one plane and sold two.
The Joint Bond Review Committee, a legislative oversight board, gave the agency the go-ahead Wednesday to buy a second replacement plane without the need for another round of bureaucratic approvals.
Because of how quickly the market moves, the agency asked for legislators’ OK upfront, instead of trying to go through the approval process once officials have their sights set on a specific plane, according to documents provided to the board.
In an effort to cut costs, the state Aeronautics Commission is buying used instead of new, according to the documents.
The commission replaced the first of the two planes in August 2024, swapping a 1990 King Air 350, which seats nine, for a 2018 model of the same plane. The older plane sold for nearly $2.4 million, and the new one cost about $6.1 million.
The second plane, a six-seater 1983 King Air C-90, proved harder to sell. After the plane received no bids during a first stint on the market, the commission gave it an inspection and listed it again at a reduced price. Ultimately, the 43-year-old plane sold for $679,000, slightly under the asking price of $715,000, according to documents provided to the committee.
Using that money, plus the remaining $3.9 million in state funds, the agency is looking for a King Air 250, which can seat up to seven people, plus a two-person crew.
The Aeronautics Commission’s governing board considered buying a jet, which would make long-distance travel faster.
But the eight-person committee ultimately decided the purchase price and operational costs were too high for a plane that wouldn’t add much benefit, wrote Aeronautics Commission Director Gary Siegfried in a letter to legislators.
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For the most part, officials use the state planes to travel short distances with small groups of people, according to agency documents. Along with being cheaper, a King Air 250 would be better designed for those sorts of trips, Siegfried wrote.
The commission estimates the cost of the new plane between $4.8 million and $5.2 million. If the purchase price stays at $5 million or below, the commission could use its remaining $1.8 million to buy a third small plane for agencies to use in surveillance, aerial photography and site surveys, according to state documents.
Used to shuttle the governor, legislators and other officials around the country on state business, the planes had become unreliable and riddled with maintenance issues, Siegfried said previously. The commission always took care of any issues before flying the planes, but they did spend months at a time grounded for repairs, limiting officials’ options for travel, he said.
Along with the governor, legislators and state agencies, particularly the Department of Commerce, public universities are allowed to use the planes to recruit athletes, though they must reimburse the state the hourly cost using private funds.
In 2025, the planes took a total of 309 trips, including 23 trips for maintenance purposes, according to the agency’s publicly available flight logs.
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Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
