The United States' Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS), more commonly known as "Con Air", has retired its sole Saab 2000 and put the aircraft up for auction, scheduled for June 26, 2018, AMCAR has reported.
The 23-year-old turboprop, N92225 (msn 2000-028), was last flown on April 30, 2018, and has since been stored at Houston Hobby, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.
JPATS earlier indicated in its Fiscal Year 2019 Performance Budget that the Saab (Sweden) turboprop had become too expensive in terms of maintenance and operations.
"The Saab Aircraft is approaching the end of its useful life, increasing the risk of mission failure. In addition, the Saab 2000 is an uncommon airplane which increases the cost of upkeep and pilot training. The maintenance costs in FY 2018-2019 are expected to be significant due to the extensive maintenance required, the difficulty expected in locating unique repair parts, and the lack of availability of qualified mechanics," the report said.
The service is, therefore, looking at a larger replacement aircraft.
"Customer requirements and the business case results support the purchase of a larger, long-range capable aircraft which offers flexibility for mission expansion and other advantages due to fleet commonality," JPATS added.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, JPATS also operates two B737-400s.
