WICHITA, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 17, 2024--
Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced that its twin-engine, large-utility turboprop, the Cessna SkyCourier, has been awarded type certification by Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), expanding the aircraft’s ability to support operational activities in some of the most remote areas of North America.
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The first SkyCourier in the region – a freighter variant – is expected to be delivered this year to Air Bravo Corporation, a passenger, cargo and air ambulance flight service company based out of Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Barrie and Meaford, Ontario since 2001.
“The SkyCourier’s outstanding performance will be a game-changer for our customers across Canada,” said Lannie O’Bannion, senior vice president, Global Sales and Flight Operations. “The maximum flexibility and low operating costs of this aircraft make it an excellent choice for a wide range of missions throughout the region.”
The SkyCourier is an ideal solution for air freight, passenger and special missions. With the ability to be operated by a single pilot, the aircraft is highly adaptable and can easily adjust configurations to effectively complete virtually any mission, supporting a significant return on investment. The aircraft also has capabilities to support a wide range of operational activities in remote areas.
About the Cessna SkyCourier
The Cessna SkyCourier twin-engine, high-wing turboprop offers a combination of performance and lower operating costs for air freight, commuter and special mission operators. It’s available in both freighter and passenger variants, as well with a Combi configuration or gravel kit for maximum flexibility. The 19-passenger variant includes separate crew and passenger doors for smooth boarding, a large baggage compartment and large cabin windows for natural light and views.
The freighter variant features a flat-floor cabin that is sized to handle up to three LD3 shipping containers with an impressive 6,000 pounds of payload capability. Both variants offer a large cargo door and single-point pressure refueling to enable faster turnarounds.
The aircraft is powered by two wing-mounted Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC turboprop engines and features the McCauley Propeller C779, a heavy-duty and reliable 110-inch aluminum four-blade propeller, which is full feathering with reversible pitch, designed to enhance the performance of the aircraft while hauling tremendous loads. The SkyCourier is operated with Garmin G1000 NXi avionics and has a maximum cruise speed of more than 200 ktas and a 900 nautical-mile maximum range.
About Textron Aviation
We inspire the journey of flight. For more than 95 years, Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has empowered our collective talent across the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker brands to design and deliver the best aviation experience for our customers. With a range that includes everything from business jets, turboprops, and high-performance pistons, to special mission, military trainer and defense products, Textron Aviation has the most versatile and comprehensive aviation product portfolio in the world and a workforce that has produced more than half of all general aviation aircraft worldwide. Customers in more than 170 countries rely on our legendary performance, reliability and versatility, along with our trusted global customer service network, for affordable and flexible flight. For more information, visit www.txtav.com | www.defense.txtav.com | www.scorpionjet.com.
About Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Arctic Cat, Textron Systems, and TRU Simulation + Training. For more information, visit: www.textron.com
Certain statements in this press release may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update them. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, changes in aircraft delivery schedules or cancellations of orders.
Cessna SkyCourier achieved Canada type certification, bringing operational support to remote regions of North America. (Photo: Textron Aviation)
Two people were killed and others were injured Monday in a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin. Police said a student who opened fire, identified as a 15-year-old girl, was also dead.
The girl also wounded six others in the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, including two students who were in critical condition, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said.
Here's the latest:
Police are trying to determine what led to the shooting. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said officers were talking with the shooter’s father and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching the shooter’s home.
Barnes said officials don’t yet know if the victims were targeted.
Speaking on CNN, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said they’re trying to put together a timeline of the shooter’s last hours before she went to the school.
Barnes said they’ve asked the ATF to expedite determining the origin of the gun used in the shooting and how the 15-year-old got her hands on it. He said he’s not certain if the weapon was owned or possessed by her parents.
Asked if her parents could be charged with a crime, Barnes said they were voluntarily giving information, but he also wanted to look at whether the parents were negligent. But at this time, he said that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Two prominent cases of parents facing criminal charges after their children are accused in school shootings have come in Michigan and Georgia in recent years.
“Kathy and I join the people of Wisconsin in praying for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were so senselessly taken and for the educators, staff, and the entire Abundant Life school community as they grapple with the grief, trauma, and loss of this gut-wrenching tragedy,” Evers said in a statement. “We are also praying and hoping all those injured survive and recover.”
The governor’s order began Monday and and ends at sunset on Sunday.
The website for the anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety shows that there have been at least 202 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 56 deaths and 147 injuries, in 2024. That data doesn’t include the latest shooting in Madison.
The deadliest school shooting in 2024 happened in September at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
Last year, 45 people died in 158 school shootings, the Everytown for Gun Safety website shows. Sixty-seven people died in 181 school shootings in 2022, according to the data.
Firearms were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.
The shooting comes less than two weeks after a gunman critically wounded two kindergartners at a tiny religious school in Northern California and then killed himself. Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said the shooter was mentally ill and believed that by targeting children on Dec. 4 that he was carrying out “counter-measures” in response to America’s involvement in Middle East violence.
Litton, 56, gained entry to the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Oroville, California, by pretending he wanted to enroll a fictitious grandson, Honea said. He used a handgun to shoot and critically wound two kindergarten boys, ages 5 and 6. Authorities said Litton was found dead afterward just yards (meters) from the school’s playground.
It was unclear why Feather River School was targeted.
Abundant Life Christian School is nondenominational and has about 420 students from pre-kindergarten through high school, according to Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School.
She said at a news briefing Monday afternoon that the school does not have metal detectors but uses other security measures including cameras. She also said guns are not allowed on campus and that the school regularly practices safety routines.
“When they heard ‘lockdown, lockdown,’ they knew it was real,” she said.
Wiers said just before the school year, they had done a retraining with the Madison Police Department, so it was “very fresh for faculty.”
The school asked for prayers in a post on its Facebook page on Monday.
Police tape is seen outside the Abundant Life Christian School Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in Madison, Wis., following a shooting on Monday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
People put flowers outside the Abundant Life Christian School Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in Madison, Wis., following a shooting on Monday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A group says a prayer outside the Abundant Life Christian School Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in Madison, Wis., following a shooting on Monday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
People put flowers outside the Abundant Life Christian School Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in Madison, Wis., following a shooting on Monday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students aboard a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A family leaves the shelter after multiple injuries were reported following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
