Cessna Citation Ii/Sp (C551)
i
ICAO C551 Small

Cessna Citation Ii/Sp

Twin Jet· 37 globally registered

The Cessna Citation II is a light business jet that became one of the most successful corporate aircraft of the 1980s, building on the original Citation's reputation for economy and simplicity while adding meaningful performance improvements. Introduced in 1977 as the Model 550, it stretched the fuselage to seat up to eight passengers, added more powerful Pratt & Whitney JT15D-4 engines, and increased range to roughly 1,500 nautical miles, making it viable for true coast-to-coast missions in the United States. Cessna produced more than 650 Citation IIs and the improved Citation II/SP variant before transitioning to the Bravo in the mid-1990s, and the type remains popular in the owner-flown and charter markets for its straightforward systems, modest operating costs, and forgiving handling characteristics. The aircraft cruises at around 400 knots and reaches a service ceiling of 43,000 feet, respectable figures for a light jet that prioritized reliability and dispatch availability over raw speed. Its straight wing and docile stall behavior made it a favorite among pilots stepping up from piston twins, while its relatively short runway performance allowed access to smaller airports that larger jets couldn't serve. SkyMeter has tracked 29 flights across 14 airframes and 11 operators, with N535J LLC among the most active observed operators.

✈
ACTIVE AIRFRAMES
14
last 7 days
🏢
OPERATORS
11
unique airlines
📊
FLIGHTS
29
tracked
⏱
AVG DURATION
1h 7m
per flight
⚠
INCIDENT RATE
13.8%
4 flagged
ⓘ

Safety in context

The incident rate counts flights with ANY safety event detected by SkyMeter: go-arounds (a routine response, not a failure), unstable-approach gate flags (advisory thresholds), rejected takeoffs (the system working as designed), and runway events. It is NOT an accident rate or fatality rate. For accident statistics, refer to the NTSB Aviation Accident Database (USA) or the Aviation Safety Network. See methodology for what each event type measures.

Performance

Speed envelope & approach

Vref
100 kt
Vref range
—
Vmo
270 kt
Mmo
0.72
Vs1 (clean)
89 kt
Vs0 (landing)
82 kt
Vfe
180 kt
Approach category
B

Dimensions

Airframe geometry

Wingspan
52 ft
Length
48 ft
Tail height
15 ft
Wheelbase
18 ft
Gear width
13 ft
Wake category
Light

Weight & identification

Operating limits

MTOW
14,800 lb
MALW
12,000 lb
Manufacturer model
Cessna Citation II/SP
FAA designator
C551
Registered
37

Recent incidents

Flagged flights of C551

20
10/23/2026
3h 2m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/23/2026
1h 6m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/23/2026
35m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/20/2026
1h 10m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/15/2026
52m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/11/2026
3h 39m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/7/2026
22m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/7/2026
1h 18m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/6/2026
34m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/4/2026
1h 15m
△ Low approach-stability score

Recent flights

Real flights of C551 · airborne ≥ 20 min

30
10/23/2026
3h 2m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/23/2026
1h 6m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/23/2026
35m
No alerts
10/23/2026
31m
No alerts
10/23/2026
42m
No alerts
10/23/2026
35m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/22/2026
1h 4m
No alerts
10/22/2026
48m
No alerts
10/22/2026
44m
No alerts
10/22/2026
1h 8m
No alerts
10/22/2026
57m
No alerts
10/22/2026
1h 18m
No alerts
10/22/2026
1h 36m
No alerts
10/22/2026
38m
No alerts
10/22/2026
2h 56m
No alerts
10/21/2026
57m
No alerts
10/20/2026
1h 15m
No alerts
10/20/2026
20m
No alerts
10/20/2026
45m
No alerts
10/20/2026
52m
No alerts
10/20/2026
1h 10m
△ Low approach-stability score
10/20/2026
1h 48m
No alerts
10/20/2026
58m
No alerts
10/19/2026
43m
No alerts
10/18/2026
59m
No alerts
10/18/2026
2h 37m
No alerts
10/18/2026
1h 49m
No alerts
10/16/2026
2h 11m
No alerts
10/16/2026
52m
No alerts
PRO
You're seeing the last 7 days
Pro unlocks the full 90-day window for stats, operators, recent flights & incidents.
Upgrade to Pro
© SkyMeter · All flight data subject to ODbL attribution · Tracking window: 7 days (free tier)