Helicopter added to border patrols

HOULTON – The United States Border Patrol has stationed a helicopter at Houlton International Airport to conduct patrol flights along the United States-Canada border in Maine to enhance security.

The McDonald-Douglas 500C arrived Oct. 28 and is the second aircraft to be stationed permanently at Houlton by the agency. In January, a single-engine Cessna 206 was placed at the airport.

Both aircraft will be used to patrol the border for immigration and cross-border smuggling violations, according to Monte Bennett, assistant chief patrol agent at the Houlton Sector of the Border Patrol.

Maine has more than 600 miles of land border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick.

The helicopter will provide the added advantage of allowing the pilot to land in remote areas to investigate activity on the ground, and to transport agents quickly to remote areas, Bennett said.

The MD-500C helicopter, which can carry from two to four people, is capable of flying at speeds of more than 100 mph.

“It’s a very good utility helicopter for law enforcement,” said Gary Baer, one of two Border Patrol pilots who have been assigned to Houlton.

Both Baer and fellow pilot Rick Stairs have extensive experience and are qualified to fly the helicopter and the airplane for both day and night operations, according to Bennett.

The pilots previously were stationed in Texas where they worked along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In a related matter, the U.S. Customs Service reported Monday that the installation of security gates has been completed at a dozen remote border crossings in New England, including nine in Maine.

The installations include a combination of gates, barriers, signs, lights and surveillance equipment.

In Maine, gates have been installed at Daaquam, Estcourt, St. Pamphile and Ste. Aurelie along the border with Quebec, and at Easton, Forest City, Hamlin, Monticello and Orient along the border with New Brunswick.

Eventually, gates will be installed at 38 ports along the U.S.-Canada border to replace traffic cones that had been used previously to indicate that a crossing was closed.

Under current alert levels, all border crossing are guarded 24 hours a day, and Customs officials have not changed the normal hours at which ports of entry are open.