$4.2M for Two Helicopters? The Helicopters Were Already Delivered — and the Other Funders Aren't in the Post.

Credit-Claiming Source: Facebook Post MISLEADING

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Why this matters in NY-23

Federal money for local public safety equipment is a routine and welcome thing. The Erie County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit replacing its original “Air One” — an airframe more than two decades old — is a real public-safety upgrade, and Rep. Langworthy’s office did secure $4.2 million through a Community Project Funding (earmark) request to help pay for the new aircraft’s avionics and outfitting. That part of the post is true and worth acknowledging.

The narrow question this entry tests: does the post’s framing — “I’m proud to secure $4.2 MILLION for not one, but TWO helicopters” — accurately describe what the federal money paid for, and who else paid?

The Statement

Source: Facebook post
Posted by: Congressman Nick Langworthy (verified account)
Date: May 2026

“I’m proud to secure $4.2 MILLION for not one, but TWO helicopters”

In a separate quote captured in WGRZ’s reporting on the House vote, Langworthy expanded:

“We secured and signed into law and the monies are working their way to Erie County — 4.2 million dollars towards the acquisition and outfitting of not one helicopter Sheriff — as the plan changes along the way — but two new helicopters.”

The Facts

The helicopters were already delivered before this announcement, and the purchase was fully funded without federal money

Two Airbus H125 helicopters from Davenport Aviation were delivered to Erie County before the federal $4.2M came through. Per the Erie County Comptroller’s November 2025 letter to the Legislature (covered by WGRZ and WKBW):

  • $6.5 million was budgeted in Erie County Capital Project A.24059 for the helicopter purchase.
  • $1 million in state aid came from NYS Assemblymember Pat Burke (D).
  • = $7.5 million total available from county + state sources before any federal money.
  • The Sheriff’s Office statement included in the same Comptroller document indicates the $6.5M county capital appropriation exceeded the $6.3M remaining purchase balance owed to Davenport Aviation. The helicopter purchase was already fully funded without federal aid.

The first new helicopter was revealed publicly — the helicopters existed and had already been delivered, and were on track to be paid off, before any federal funds arrived.

What the $4.2M actually covers

Because the helicopter purchase was already covered by county capital + Burke’s state aid, the federal $4.2M is essentially entirely for outfitting equipment, not for buying the airframes themselves. Per WGRZ, the outfitting includes:

  • avionics
  • dual flight controls and autopilot
  • searchlights
  • infrared (night-vision) cameras
  • a rescue hoist
  • “sophisticated radios and computers”

The Comptroller’s specific concern in the November 2025 letter was that the outfitting (not the helicopter purchase) was contingent on federal aid that had not yet materialized.

WIVB’s own headline on the announcement frames this precisely: “Congressman Nick Langworthy secured more than $4 million to outfit the helicopters.” That headline — which Langworthy’s own post graphic includes — is more accurate than the post’s “for not one, but TWO helicopters” framing.

What the Post Leaves Out

Assemblymember Pat Burke’s $1 million

NYS Assemblymember Pat Burke (D) secured $1 million in state aid for this project. Because the $6.5M county capital appropriation alone already exceeded the $6.3M remaining purchase balance, Burke’s $1M flows toward the outfitting phase — alongside (not duplicative of) the federal $4.2M. The total non-federal funding picture: county capital fully covers the helicopter purchase, and Burke’s state aid contributes to outfitting costs.

Per WIVB, Burke’s contribution is part of the multi-government funding stack that produced this outcome.

Burke is a Democrat. He is not mentioned in Langworthy’s Facebook post.

The county legislature’s role

Erie County is funding the bulk of the project. The county legislature approved the helicopter purchase via standard capital project channels well before the federal money was secured.

The funding was uncertain through late 2025

Even as the helicopters were delivered, the federal portion was not assured. From the Erie County Comptroller’s November 2025 letter to the Legislature:

“The purchase and upfitting of the two helicopters is contingent on the County receiving $4.5 million in federal aid via Congressman Nicholas Langworthy. That has not happened and there is no timetable for when, or if, such funds will actually be received.”

(The final secured amount came in $300,000 below the contingency target — $4.2M instead of $4.5M.)

The credit-claim post in May 2026 frames this as a smoothly-secured win. The contemporaneous record from late 2025 shows months of uncertainty, with the county Comptroller publicly warning that the federal piece might never arrive.

Why the Verdict is MISLEADING

The dollar figure is real and the federal aid is real. The Member did secure it through an earmark request. That part is not in dispute.

The post is misleading on two counts:

  1. Framing. “$4.2 MILLION for not one, but TWO helicopters” implies the federal money is what put the helicopters in the air. In reality, the helicopter purchase was fully funded by Erie County’s $6.5M capital appropriation alone, which exceeded the $6.3M remaining balance owed to Davenport Aviation per the Sheriff’s Office statement to the Comptroller. The federal $4.2M is essentially entirely for outfitting equipment (cameras, autopilot, searchlights, hoists, avionics), not for buying the airframes themselves.

  2. Omitted partners. Multi-government cooperation produced this outcome. Erie County’s capital appropriation funded the helicopter purchase. Assemblymember Pat Burke (D) secured $1M in state aid that contributes toward outfitting costs alongside the federal $4.2M. The Sheriff’s Office and county legislature steered the project for years before any federal money came through. The Member’s post takes sole credit for an outcome that involved county capital funds, state legislative action, and federal appropriations — and omits the Democratic state legislator who contributed cash.

This is the documented “Take Credit for Opposition’s Work” pattern (see methodology), narrowly applied: the Member’s contribution is real, but the post claims the entire result.

Context: A Documented Pattern

This entry fits the project’s established “Take Credit for Others’ Work” template. Prior fact-checks in this pattern:

Questions This Raises

  1. Why does the post not mention Assemblymember Pat Burke’s $1M state contribution? In a post that emphasizes multi-government cooperation, the omission of the Democratic state legislator who contributed cash is notable.
  2. Will the office issue a corrected post that distinguishes the helicopters (county- and state-funded, already delivered) from the outfitting equipment (federally funded)? WIVB’s own headline got this right; Langworthy’s post graphic includes WIVB’s headline yet the post copy says something different.
  3. Of the four county-level credit-claims documented on this site (FeedMore, Great Lakes Award, Steuben grants, this entry), how many have included acknowledgments of co-funders or upstream actors who built the path?

Cross-References

Sources

Note: This entry does not contest that the federal $4.2M was secured, that it is real money, or that it advances the Sheriff’s Aviation Unit’s mission. The narrow finding is that the post’s “for not one, but TWO helicopters” framing makes the federal contribution sound like the action that produced the helicopters, when in fact county funds and state aid (including from a Democratic Assemblymember not mentioned in the post) had already paid for the airframes themselves before the federal money arrived.

Last updated: May 6, 2026.