Aircraft model
PILATUS PC-12/45
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The PC-12/45 is the earlier version of Pilatus's single-engine turboprop, certified at a 10,450 lb maximum weight — the /45 in the designation refers to that figure in kilograms. It carries up to nine passengers in a pressurised cabin at 270 knots, has a large rear cargo door, and will operate from short unpaved strips, which is a combination almost nothing else offers.
A 2001 aircraft is the analogue-panel generation, before the Honeywell Apex flight deck arrived with the NG in 2008. That matters: bringing an older PC-12 up to current airspace and operational requirements is a substantial avionics investment, and it is the main reason these sell for well under half the price of a newer one. The rest is standard turbine ownership — hot section inspections, an eventual overhaul in six figures, and 60 to 70 gallons an hour of Jet-A. No type rating is required below 12,500 lb, but a high-altitude endorsement is, and every insurer requires formal initial and annual recurrent simulator training plus, often, a mentor pilot period.
Compare with…
Put PILATUS PC-12/45 side by side with up to two other models.
- PILATUS PC-12/45
What it is
| Seats | 9 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B |
| Horsepower | 1,200 hp |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1994 |
| Production end | 2008 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;pressurized/high-altitude |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 270 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,700 nm |
| Service ceiling | 30,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,680 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 67 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 2,600 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 2,170 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 9 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 4,189 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,757 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 9,921 lb |
| Empty weight | 5,732 lb |
| Usable fuel | 402 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 66 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $1,500,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $3,300,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 3,500 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $520,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $780,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 351 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 278 |
| Median year built | 2001.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 6 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 21.581 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 10.792 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 55 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 19.783 |
| Airworthiness directives | 66 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 4 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 278 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 278 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 278 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, turbo-prop, 1 engine, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 3.3 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 1.7 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 2.2 of 103 |
| Support | 7.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 19.3 out of 506 |
These record scores treat PILATUS PC-12/45 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 100 aircraft registered under PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD; includes 8 aircraft registered under PILATUS FLUGZEUGWERKE AG. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 3.7 · 10 models in class.
- Severity: class median 29.71.
- Access: class median 3,269.25.
- Support: class median 94.5.
- Liquidity: class median 21.99.
- 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.