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Cessna's new SkyCourier appears to have been spared from the impact of a December 27 explosion at Textron Aviation's building in east Wichita, the airframer told AIN in a statement today. “While the building damage assessment continues, the location of the company’s Cessna SkyCourier development program in Plant 3 appears to have not been impacted,” the company said.
Around 8 a.m. on December 27, the massive building that houses Textron Aviation’s composite manufacturing and experimental aircraft fabrication was damaged by a liquid nitrogen explosion, causing part of it to collapse and sending 11 workers to the hospital. Four others were treated at the scene. Textron Aviation said its primary focus remains on workers affected by the blast that could be heard and felt several miles away.
“The priorities at this time include continued care and support of our employees who were injured and assistance to those who were otherwise impacted, determining the structural integrity of the building, ensuring the safety and security of our employees and response team personnel, and coordination and cooperation with all investigations as to cause,” the statement said. “The company’s emergency response team meets multiple times daily to address these priorities and has appointed vendors to assist with the cleanup efforts.”
A Textron Aviation spokeswoman had earlier confirmed that the building housed its new SkyCourier twin-turboprop development program, which recently marked a milestone with the mating of the fuselage and its high wing.
Textron Aviation’s SkyCourier twin-engine turboprop development program was spared from serious damage after the massive building where it is being assembled in east Wichita was rocked by a liquid nitrogen explosion on December 27. The blast could be felt and heard from several miles away. There were no fatalities, but 11 people were transported to area hospitals and another four were treated and released at the scene, authorities said.
A cause of the explosion wasn’t immediately known but there was a 3-inch line carrying liquid nitrogen to the building that ruptured and “caused a rupture to another vessel and that is the one that is currently venting now,” Sedgwick County deputy fire chief Daniel Wegner said. He noted the plant was on holiday shutdown so a “skeleton crew” was working at the time of the explosion. “But I don’t have numbers of how many people were in the plant at this time.”
Textron Aviation spokeswoman Stephanie Harder said the building houses the airframer’s composite manufacturing and experimental aircraft fabrication, including the SkyCourier. The company later confirmed that the SkyCourier program appeared to be unharmed by the explosion. “While the building damage assessment continues, the location of the company’s Cessna SkyCourier development program in Plant 3 appears to have not been impacted,” Textron said in a statement to AIN.
Earlier in December, the program marked a milestone with the mating of the prototype’s fuselage and its high wing. The SkyCourier’s flight test program includes five other flight and ground test articles. Current testing involves the SkyCourier’s landing gear and avionics, and first flight is expected sometime this year.
FedEx is the launch customer for the SkyCourier, with 50 firm orders for the airplane and options for 50 more. Configurable for both cargo and commuter operations, it is designed to carry a payload of up to 6,000 pounds with an 87-inch cargo door, a flat floor, and a nearly 70-inch-tall and -wide cabin to accept three standard LD3 air cargo containers.
In a passenger configuration, it will have seating for up to 19 passengers, with a netted rear cabin area for luggage and equipment. Capable of flying 200 ktas, the aircraft is powered by two 1,100-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC turboprop engines and two new 110-inch McCauley propellers.