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

Continental IO-520-E

2 aircraft on the U.S. register carry a Continental IO-520-E engine, rated at about 300 horsepower. The Aero Commander 500 is the model most often fitted with it (2 aircraft). The aircraft carrying it were built between 1961 and 1963.

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 IO-520-E. FAA spelling: IO-520-E.

Fitted to model families

Aero Commander 5002

Aero Commander 500

Where they are owner's state

North Carolina1Delaware1

Kind of aircraft

Piston twins2 (100%)

When the aircraft were built by decade

0012221960

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

The design is held under 1 type certificate (E5CE, held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC.). The FAA has issued 29 airworthiness directives (orders that owners must comply with) that name this engine series. Operators and repair shops have filed 11 failure reports with the FAA since 1995, 5 of them in the last ten years.

FAA orders 29 airworthiness directives · newest first

2023-10-262023-17-04 · Reciprocating Engine Oil System · engine
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
2016-09-152016-16-12 · Cylinder assemblies · engine

All orders naming the Continental IO-520-E

Failure reports 11 since · what operators and shops told the FAA

01223195197100202107110111318

Parts most often reported as the reports name them

Connecting Rod3Adapter1Barrel1Cam1Crankshaft1Cylinder1Mount1Rib1Tach Generator1

Latest reports

2018-05-21Connecting Rod: oil starvation
2018-05-21Connecting Rod: failed
2018-05-21Connecting Rod: failed
2011-12-23Mount: broken
2010-04-03Barrel: worn

Certificates and bulletins

E5CEType certificate held by Continental Aerospace Technologies, INC. · 18 models listed · revised March 8, 2022

Safety bulletins 10 · advice, not orders

2020-04-06NE-20-05 · POWERPLANT - Engine Camshaft Gear Tooth Fracture
2018-06-20NE-18-16 · POWERPLANT Alternator Drive Coupling
2017-05-10NE-17-11 · POWERPLANT Engine damage as a result of kickback
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

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
Airworthiness

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

Aircraft newest certificates first · 2

Tail no.Maker and modelGroupOwner and baseCertificateRegisteredStatus
N311PW Aero Commander
500-A
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Quantic LLC
Morrisville, North Carolina
Standard 2024-07-12 ValidFAA registration status code V: Valid registration. All codes
N313M Aero Commander
500-A
Fixed-wing, multi-engine Bosco74 LLC
Wilmington, Delaware
Standard 2021-07-20 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.