By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON — The FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group is leasing part of the former Air National Guard base at Richmond International Airport for aviation operations, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
“We’re very excited to have the FBI as a tenant of the Richmond International Airport,” Jon Mathiasen, the airport’s president and CEO, told the paper. “They’ll bring commerce to the field by buying fuel and other services.”
The Capital Region Airport Commission signed a five-year lease with the FBI for the 8-acre site, with options to extend for up to another 15 years, the paper reported. The cost of the lease is $1 million a year.
The FBI said in a statement Wednesday that “the mission of the Bureau Aviation Program is to provide aviation support for all facets of FBI investigative activities with a priority on protecting America against acts of terrorism.”
“The support provided includes transportation of response personnel and equipment to crisis sites, and transportation of evidence in sensitive matters,” the FBI said.
“The program also provides training and annual check rides for pilots, maintains an aviation safety program, ensures the proper maintenance of aircraft, and purchases new aircraft and equipment.
