The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Engines · piston (reciprocating) · data as of October 5, 2026

Continental GTSIO-520-N

10 aircraft on the U.S. register carry a Continental GTSIO-520-N engine, rated at about 375 horsepower. The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is the model most often fitted with it (10 aircraft). The aircraft carrying it were built between 1980 and 1984.

The FAA records engines by code, usually at the level of a series ("O-320 series") rather than the exact variant; this page gathers every FAA code that reads as Continental GTSIO-520-N. FAA spelling: GTSIO-520-N.

Fitted to model families

Cessna 421 Golden Eagle10

Cessna 421 Golden Eagle

Where they are owner's state

Georgia3Oklahoma2Texas1New Mexico1Montana1Indiana1California1

Kind of aircraft

Piston twins10 (100%)

When the aircraft were built by decade

025810101980

What the FAA has certified, ordered and been told about the Continental GTSIO-520-N the component layer

The design is held under 1 type certificate (E7CE, held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC.). The FAA has issued 25 airworthiness directives (orders that owners must comply with) that name this engine series. Operators and repair shops have filed 54 failure reports with the FAA since 1995, 3 of them in the last ten years.

FAA orders 25 airworthiness directives · newest first

2023-03-152023-05-16 · Reciprocating Engine Power Section · engine
2023-02-232023-04-08 · Reciprocating Engine Power Section · engine
2023-02-172023-02-12 · Engine Air Intake System · engine
2022-08-152022-16-03 · Engine (RECIPROCATING) · engine
2020-09-212020-16-11 · SUMMARY: Reciprocating Cylinder Section · engine
2016-09-152016-16-12 · Cylinder assemblies · engine

All orders naming the Continental GTSIO-520-N

Failure reports 54 since · what operators and shops told the FAA

0246895000513126

Parts most often reported as the reports name them

Crankcase4Line4Bearing3Gear3Adapter2Clamp2Driven Gear2Pipe2Piston2Stud2

Latest reports

2026-06-30Gasket: degraded
2018-12-11Pressure Switch: failed
2017-12-07Engine: failed
2015-03-05Crankcase: cracked
2015-02-26Pin: broken

Certificates and bulletins

E7CEType certificate held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC. · 10 models listed · revised February 23, 2023

Safety bulletins 6 · advice, not orders

2018-06-20NE-18-16 · POWERPLANT Alternator Drive Coupling
2016-03-08NE-16-13 · Powerplant - Prohibited use of sealant
2013-02-08NE-13-15 · Engine Controls: Continental Motors, Inc. (CMI) Throttle and Mixture Control Levers
2012-10-31NE-13-04 · Continental Motors, Inc. (CMI) Connecting Rod Piston Pin Bushing Inspection
2009-11-20NE-10-09 · Reciprocating Engine Power Section: Hydraulic Valve Lifters

Sources: the FAA's type certificate data sheets, airworthiness directives, supplemental type certificates, special conditions and special airworthiness information bulletins (Dynamic Regulatory System), and the FAA's service difficulty reports. A failure report is what an operator or repair station chose to file; the counts show reporting as much as reliability, and larger and commercial fleets report more. How the systems are grouped.

Connections how this engine series links to the rest of the register

Fitted to
Where they are
Biggest operators
Airworthiness

These connections as data: /graph/engine/continental-gtsio-520-n.json · about the eFlight graph.

Aircraft newest certificates first · 10

Tail no.Maker and modelGroupOwner and baseCertificateRegisteredStatus
N605SR Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Plane Fun INC Tr Trustee
Snellville, Georgia
Standard 2025-10-21 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N41LJ Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Pic Aviation Group LLC
Cornelia, Georgia
Standard 2023-08-30 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N92CV Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Randall Grier Ministries
Owasso, Oklahoma
Standard 2023-01-11 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N421AA Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Hammett Holdings LLC
Townsend, Georgia
Standard 2022-08-16 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N421FZ Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Individual owner
Texas
Standard 2021-11-13 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N421TE Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Torgerson'S LLC
Ethridge, Montana
Standard 2021-09-08 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N421JE Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Individual owner
California
Standard 2021-02-19 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N469CJ Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Herndon Aviation LLC
Kokomo, Indiana
Standard 2018-02-01 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N51QZ Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Aircraft Guaranty CORP Trustee
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Standard 2016-09-23 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N421JC Cessna
421C
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Lonestar Aviation LLC
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Standard 2012-08-28 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes

Source: FAA Civil Aviation Registry, Releasable Aircraft Database (the engine reference table and each aircraft's engine code), October 5, 2026. Horsepower and thrust are the FAA's figures for the series, not for a particular aircraft.