The NYPD has granted CBS 2 a first look at its expensive new helicopter — designed to do a lot more than simply fight terrorism.
CBS News senior correspondent John Miller was given a chance to go up for a ride recently.
The helicopter, a Bell 412EP, was funded with federal port security money and can carry up to 10 people, including a pilot, co-pilot, crew chief, NYPD SCUBA divers or Emergency Services Unit officers. It weighs 7,000 pounds, can travel 150 mph and costs $9.8 million, plus it carries another $4 million worth of sensitive equipment.
Part of its job is to confront the threat that terrorists might try to smuggle a nuclear device into New York City through its busy ports.
The chopper, which uses the call sign "Aviation 22," is equipped with new radiation detection equipment that is so sensitive it can fly over a container, cargo or tanker ship and accurately detect a radiation signature from an altitude of 200 feet.
