Cessna 402
Encyclopedia
The Cessna 401 and 402 are series of 6 to 10 place, light twin, piston engine aircraft
. This line was manufactured by Cessna
from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner. All seats are easily removable so that the aircraft can be used in an all-cargo configuration.
Neither the Cessna 401 and 402 were pressurized, nor are they particularly fast for the installed horsepower. Instead, Cessna intended them to be inexpensive to purchase and operate.
, fully feathering propellers. On later models cruise power was limited to 75% to reduce cabin noise. Some aircraft have a propeller synchrophaser to reduce cabin noise and vibration.
The Cessna 401s, 402s, 402As and some 402Bs built from 1966 to 1971 had four small oval windows, which gave the aircraft a similar appearance to the pressurized Cessna 340
. Starting half-way through the production of the Cessna 402B the window configuration was changed to the more distinctive five rectangular windows, an arrangement that was retained through the 402C model, until the completion of production in 1987. All 402Bs were equipped with tip-tanks.
of Las Vegas
purchased the rights to the design in 1977.
The Cessna 402C may be outfitted with vortex generators to increase maximum allowable takeoff weight to 7210 lb (3,270 kg), with a zero-fuel weight of 6750 lb (3,062 kg).
Another modification for the 402C increases the maximum landing weight to 7200 lb (3,266 kg), which allows commercial operators to fly with an increased payload on shorter routes.
401
401A
401B
402
402A
402B Utiliner/Businessliner
402C Utiliner/Businessliner
1535 Cessna 402s were built.
The largest operator of the type is Cape Air
, which currently has a fleet of "over 64 402s" operating in the Caribbean
and United States
.
South Africa
died along with the pilot and seven others, including make up artists and record label executives, when Cessna 402B N8097W crashed on August 25, 2001 at Marsh Harbour
, Abaco Islands
, The Bahamas
. The pilot
, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine
and alcohol
in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death
lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways
, which was settled out of court. The Cessna 402B exploded on impact just 200 feet beyond the end of a runway at Marsh Harbour International Airport on Abaco Island at 6:45 p.m., Rahming said. The craft, which was bound for Opa-Locka Airport
, just northwest of Miami, was apparently overloaded and suffered engine failure upon liftoff, he said. Blackhawk was listed in Customs documents as the official operator while Skystream is listed as the plane's owner. Others killed in the accident included Aaliyah makeup artist Eric Foreman, 29, and Virgin Records
representative Douglas Kratz, 28, according to Rahming. Two other women and three other men, including the pilot, died in the crash; another male passenger died early Sunday morning in Nassau, where he was awaiting airlift to a Miami hospital.
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. This line was manufactured by Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner. All seats are easily removable so that the aircraft can be used in an all-cargo configuration.
Neither the Cessna 401 and 402 were pressurized, nor are they particularly fast for the installed horsepower. Instead, Cessna intended them to be inexpensive to purchase and operate.
Development
The Cessna 401 and 402 were developments of the Cessna 411. All 401s and 402s are powered by 300 hp turbocharged Continental engines with three-bladed, constant speedConstant speed propeller
A constant speed propeller is a type of propeller that can change its blade pitch to take better advantage of the power supplied by an engine in much the same way that a transmission in a car takes better advantage of its power source...
, fully feathering propellers. On later models cruise power was limited to 75% to reduce cabin noise. Some aircraft have a propeller synchrophaser to reduce cabin noise and vibration.
The Cessna 401s, 402s, 402As and some 402Bs built from 1966 to 1971 had four small oval windows, which gave the aircraft a similar appearance to the pressurized Cessna 340
Cessna 340
|-See also:-References:* Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. ISBN 0 7106-0748-2.* Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988–89. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Defence Data, 1988. ISBN 0 7106-0867-5....
. Starting half-way through the production of the Cessna 402B the window configuration was changed to the more distinctive five rectangular windows, an arrangement that was retained through the 402C model, until the completion of production in 1987. All 402Bs were equipped with tip-tanks.
Modifications
In 1969, American Jet Industries began work on a turboprop-powered conversion of the Cessna 402, named the Turbo Star 402, using Allison 250-B17 engines. The prototype flew on 10 June 1970. Further modifications providing increased fuel tankage, higher gross weight, and lower minimum control speed were carried out in 1974 and the modification was recertificated. Scenic AirlinesScenic Airlines
Scenic Airlines is an American regional airline based in Paradise, Nevada, USA. It operates sightseeing flights from Boulder City Airport in Boulder City, Nevada.-History:...
of Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
purchased the rights to the design in 1977.
The Cessna 402C may be outfitted with vortex generators to increase maximum allowable takeoff weight to 7210 lb (3,270 kg), with a zero-fuel weight of 6750 lb (3,062 kg).
Another modification for the 402C increases the maximum landing weight to 7200 lb (3,266 kg), which allows commercial operators to fly with an increased payload on shorter routes.
Variants
This family of aircraft was built in several versions:401
- Six to eight seat interior, intended for corporate transport. Produced 1966-1972. 404 were built. The replacement for the 401 in the corporate transport role was the 402 Businessliner variant. CertifiedType certificateA Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
20 September 1966.
401A
- A 401 with minor changes, 132 built. Certified 29 October 1968.
401B
- A 401A with minor changes, 91 built later replaced by the 402B. Certified 12 November 1969.
402
- A 401 with either a utility (for freight) or nine-seat commuter use, number built included in 401 totals. Certified 20 September 1966.
402A
- A 402 with a baggage compartment in lengthened nose and an optional crew entry door, 129 built. Certified 3 January 1969.
402B Utiliner/Businessliner
- 402A with minor changes, from 1972 had increased cabin volume and five windows each side, 129 built. Certified 12 November 1969.
- Utiliner version has a ten-seat interior intended for commuter airline operations.
- Businessliner version has a six to eight-seat interior with executive seating intended for corporate transport
402C Utiliner/Businessliner
- 402B with increased takeoff weight, longer span wings without tip tanks and new landing gear, 681 built. Certified 25 September 1978.
1535 Cessna 402s were built.
Operators
Civilian
The Cessna 402 has proven to be a very dependable aircraft over the years which, along with its range and passenger capacity has made it a popular choice for many small regional airlines worldwide. The planes are generally utilized on short, thin routes to hubs where passengers can connect to higher density routes.The largest operator of the type is Cape Air
Cape Air
Hyannis Air Service, Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast, Florida, the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic States, Midwest, and Micronesia...
, which currently has a fleet of "over 64 402s" operating in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Military
- Barbados Defence ForceBarbados Defence ForceThe Barbados Defence Force is the name given to the combined armed forces of Barbados. The BDF was established August 15, 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the Barbados Defence Force are located in the St...
- Bolivian Naval Force
- Djibouti Air ForceDjibouti Air ForceThe Djiboutian Air Force .Djibouti is situated on the eastern coast of Africa between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and covers 23.200 square kilometer. The Djibouti Air Force was formed after the independence of June 27 1977 as part of the Djibouti Army...
- Finnish Air ForceFinnish Air ForceThe Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...
two aircraft, former operator
- Armed Forces of HaitiArmed Forces of HaitiThe Armed Forces of Haiti, , consisted of the Haitian Army, Haitian Navy , Haitian Coast Guard, the Haitian Air Force, and some police forces . The Army was always the dominant service with the others serving primarily in a support role...
South AfricaAccidents
American R&B singer AaliyahAaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
died along with the pilot and seven others, including make up artists and record label executives, when Cessna 402B N8097W crashed on August 25, 2001 at Marsh Harbour
Marsh Harbour
Marsh Harbour is a town in Abaco Islands, Bahamas, with a population of 5,314.With more than five thousand residents, Marsh Harbour is the third largest town in The Bahamas, and the main focus of tourism in the Abacos. Marsh Harbour is a shipbuilding center, but tourism accounts for most of its...
, Abaco Islands
Abaco Islands
The Abaco Islands lie in the northern Bahamas and comprise the main islands of Great Abaco and Little Abaco, together with the smaller Wood Cay, Elbow Cay, Lubbers Quarters Cay, Green Turtle Cay, Great Guana Cay, Castaway Cay, Man-o-War Cay, Stranger's Cay, Umbrella Cay, Walker's Cay, Little Grand...
, The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
. The pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death
Wrongful death claim
Wrongful death is a claim in common law jurisdictions against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute...
lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways
Blackhawk International Airways
Blackhawk International Airways was an aircraft charter rental and leasing company based at New Providence in the Bahamas. Blackhawk also leases its aircraft. Blackhawk is owned by Gilbert Chacón and his son Erik, who founded the company in 1991...
, which was settled out of court. The Cessna 402B exploded on impact just 200 feet beyond the end of a runway at Marsh Harbour International Airport on Abaco Island at 6:45 p.m., Rahming said. The craft, which was bound for Opa-Locka Airport
Opa-locka Airport
Opa-locka Airport , also known as Opa-locka Executive Airport, is a general aviation airport and joint civil-military airfield 10 miles north of Downtown Miami, primarily in metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States, with a portion within the city proper of Opa-locka.The airport's control tower...
, just northwest of Miami, was apparently overloaded and suffered engine failure upon liftoff, he said. Blackhawk was listed in Customs documents as the official operator while Skystream is listed as the plane's owner. Others killed in the accident included Aaliyah makeup artist Eric Foreman, 29, and Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
representative Douglas Kratz, 28, according to Rahming. Two other women and three other men, including the pilot, died in the crash; another male passenger died early Sunday morning in Nassau, where he was awaiting airlift to a Miami hospital.