Cessna 421C
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The 421C, built 1976-1985, is the final and best Golden Eagle: a bonded wet wing with no tip tanks, a higher-aspect-ratio planform, and up to eight seats in a pressurised cabin-class fuselage. It cruises at 240 knots, which is faster than several turboprops, and it will fly 1,400 nautical miles. As a piston aeroplane it is close to the end of what is possible.
The geared Continentals remain the defining problem. They are quiet and powerful and they do not last — plan on an overhaul life well under 2,000 hours, plan on a pair of overhauls costing a substantial fraction of the aeroplane's value, and be sceptical of any example offered cheaply with high-time engines. Pressurisation, deice, two propellers and a cabin-class annual inspection all add to it. Cracked exhaust components are a carbon monoxide risk because the cabin breathes engine air. Insurance requires a multi-engine rating, high-altitude training and recurrent training. Owners who fly 200 hours a year and budget properly love them; occasional flyers should not buy one.
Variants of the Cessna 421 Golden Eagle
- 421 · 1968 · 28 active
- 421B · 1970 · 225 active
- 421C · 1976 · 497 active · this page
Also consider
- Piper PA-31-310Score 17.5/50 · 8 seats · 200 kt
- Cessna 414AScore 24.9/50 · 8 seats · 200 kt
- Cessna 402No overall score · 9 seats · 209 kt
Compare with…
Put Cessna 421C side by side with up to three other models.
- Cessna 421C
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 8 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Continental GTSIO-520-L (geared, turbocharged) |
| Horsepower | 375 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1976 |
| Production end | 1985 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine;pressurized/high-altitude |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 240 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,400 nm |
| Service ceiling | 30,200 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,940 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 79 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 2,323 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 2,293 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 8 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,810 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,532 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 7,450 lb |
| Empty weight | 4,640 lb |
| Usable fuel | 213 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 43.5 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $100,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $825,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $75,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $115,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 835 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 497 |
| Median year built | 1978.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 23 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 9 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 46.281 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 24.142 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 133 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 26.763 |
| Airworthiness directives | 9 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 497 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 497 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 497 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 3.1 of 101 |
| Severity | 1.6 of 102 |
| Access | 2 of 103 |
| Support | 9.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 6.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 23.1 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 15.87 · 17 models in class.
- Severity: class median 20.42.
- Access: class median 3,096.5.
- Support: class median 132.5.
- Liquidity: class median 23.08.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30