The American Samoa government says it's spent just under US$500,000 to date on a Britten Norman Islander aircraft.
The governor reported the information to the Senate after a request in November.
The governor said that the source of funding for the plane was the US$500,000 appropriation to provide emergency transportation services for Manu'a, covered by insurance proceeds and US$350,000 came from Job Growth and Tax relief funds.
The governor explained that the aircraft is to be used for government purposes and to stand by to provide services to Manu'a if and when commercial airlines are not able to provide such services.
