Aircraft model
PIPER PA-31-350
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Navajo Chieftain, a ten-seat unpressurised twin with 350 hp a side and counter-rotating propellers. It was the backbone of American commuter and air taxi flying through the 1970s and 1980s, carrying eight passengers on short regional legs, and a great many still work in freight, survey and charter roles. It cruises at 210 knots and carries nearly 2,800 lb.
It is bought today for load and volume rather than refinement, and the economics are those of a commercial aeroplane rather than a private one. Two turbocharged Lycoming TIO-540s are expensive to overhaul and unforgiving of careless power handling; the exhaust and turbocharger systems need close annual inspection. A ten-seat twin's annual inspection is a serious event. Counter-rotating propellers remove the critical engine, which genuinely improves asymmetric handling, but this is a big, heavy aeroplane and engine-failure work in it demands proper training. Insurance requires a multi-engine rating, time in type and, for commercial use, formal recurrent training.
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- PIPER PA-31-350
What it is
| Seats | 10 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (turbocharged, counter-rotating) |
| Horsepower | 350 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 1973 |
| Production end | 1984 |
| Endorsements required | complex;high-performance;multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 210 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,000 nm |
| Service ceiling | 24,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,120 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 68 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 2,100 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 2,100 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 10 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,779 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,687 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 7,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 4,221 lb |
| Usable fuel | 182 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 40.6 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $120,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $550,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,800 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $62,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $88,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 1,550 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 398 |
| Median year built | 1979.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 24 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 60.31 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 15.082 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 119 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 29.93 |
| Airworthiness directives | 15 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 398 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 398 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 398 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, piston, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 5.6 of 101 |
| Severity | 6.3 of 102 |
| Access | 2.7 of 103 |
| Support | 8.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.8 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 32.3 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 15.63 · 17 models in class.
- Severity: class median 23.08.
- Access: class median 3,096.5.
- Support: class median 121.5.
- 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.