Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II

The Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II is a turboprop twin engine utility aircraft manufactured and designed by Reims Aviation in cooperation with Cessna.

Design and development The F406 Caravan II is a twin turboprop engined, fourteen-seat low-wing monoplane of conventional aluminium (airframe) and steel (engine internal parts, exhaust, landing gear) construction. It is a development of the Cessna 404 Titan with two Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop engines. The aircraft first flew on 22 September 1983Taylor 1988, p. 79. and was produced by Reims Aviation until the company's 2013 demise."GECI Aviation". Retrieved 9 June 2012. The F406 is aimed at passenger and small cargo transport as well as civilian and military surveillance. For extra cargo capacity, a cargo pod can be fitted to the belly of the aircraft.

Though the F406 is more expensive to operate than single-engine aircraft of the same passenger capacity such as the Cessna 208 Caravan, having two engines made it comply with European regulations regarding commercial operations, which for a long time only allowed multi-engine aircraft for commercial instrument flight.

In March 2014, Reims Aviation was acquired by Chinese-owned Continental Motors Inc and renamed ASI Aviation. Two remaining incomplete airframes were finished in France before a shift to Mobile, Alabama with new avionics, electrical, and hydraulic systems; a new autopilot; and an engine choice of current P&WC PT6A-135 or pistons : Continental GTSIO-520 and/or Continental CD-310 diesel. The Type Certificate transferred but only had approval to produce spare parts and not the whole aircraft.

Operators

Aerologistics Australian Customs and Border Protection ServiceCobham Receives AUD$ 7 million Additional Contract Extension from Australian Customs and Border Protection Service , article retrieved 23 July 2013.

Air Saint-Pierre French Army

Air-Taxi Europe Technische Universität Braunschweig

Hellenic Coast Guard"Airscene: Military Affairs: First Hellenic Coast Guard F406 enters service". Air International, Vol. 60, No. 5, May 2001. p. 262.

Namibian Fisheries and Marine Resources Westair Aviation

Republic of Korea Navy

Arc en Ciel Airlines

RVL Aviation

Accidents and incidents On August 31, 1993, a Reims-Cessna F406 (registration F-GJLH) registered to J.G. Abdi crashed at Strasbourg Airport (Alsace). The aircraft was destroyed.Unfallbericht Reims-Cessna F406 F-GJLH, Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , retrieved 2 March 2025. 3 November 2001 – A Reims-Cessna F406 crashed shortly after takeoff from runway 03R at O. R. Tambo International Airport, killing all three occupants. The aircraft did not have a valid certificate of airworthiness at the time of the incident. On August 17, 2003, a Reims-Cessna F406 of Hageland Aviation Services (N6591L) crashed in Chukchi on a cargo flight from Barrow Airport to Wainwright Airport in Alaska. The two people on board the aircraft died. Analysis of radar data and statements from a local pilot suggested that the aircraft crashed into the sea.

Specifications

Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II

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