The American Samoa government is acquiring an aircraft to be used only in emergencies.
The Governor, Togiola Tulafono, announced on his weekly radio programme that the aircraft would be purchased this week.
He said it would be bought using funds from the half a million dollar appropriation approved by the last legislature to maintain and improve transportation to Manu'a.
The governor said that the aircraft will be used only in emergencies if there's a problem with commercial flights to Manu'a.
He said the government doesn't intend to compete with airlines but is only acquiring the aircraft to stand by for emergencies.
The governor didn't say how much the aircraft would cost or explain how it would be crewed.
